


Tinted Azure Skies

by RandyPandy



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, Canon Temporary Character Death, Chrom!Inigo, F/M, Female Gimurei | Grima, Female My Unit | Reflet | Robin, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Henry!Laurent, Inigo goes by Laslow, Inigo!Morgan, Lon'qu!Owain, Olivia!Lucina, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Trauma-Based Amnesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:15:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 37,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28845192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandyPandy/pseuds/RandyPandy
Summary: The future children travel back in time, but Grima catches up to them before Inigo and Lucina can go through. Inigo sacrifices himself, and history ends up irrevocably altered before a tactician is even found napping in a field.Or: Prince Chrom discovers who he believes is his half-brother.
Relationships: Azur | Inigo & Chrom, Azur | Inigo & Lucina, Azur | Inigo/My Unit | Reflet | Robin, Chrom/Olivia (Fire Emblem), Loran | Laurent/Lucina, Minor or Background Relationship(s), romance is not the focus - Relationship
Comments: 50
Kudos: 62





	1. Those Who Dare to Change History

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope that you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'm fairly excited since it is difficult for me to stick with one project long enough to make it this long and finish it.

The portal was open. It was _there_.

Lucina had ushered her friends towards it, fully intending for them to go in while she made sure that it stayed open. With Naga using the Exalted bloodline to anchor it, they all had to go in first to ensure that it stayed open long enough. Finally, it was just the three of them left – her, Inigo, and Owain.

“That’s that, then,” Inigo said. “It’s time for us to go through.”

“Right,” Lucina echoed, and turned to Owain. “Owain, if you would?”

Owain stepped towards the portal, turning back around behind them. “Promise that you will be right behind us as we wander into the flow of time.”

“Of course!” Inigo grinned at him, waving as Owain jogged through. Now it was just the two of them left. “I suppose I will be next then—”

**_“Found you, worms.”_ **

_No!_

Lucina gasped as she saw the woman standing there, her form shrouded with dark smoke, and several Risen appearing from around them. Oh gods. Grima had _found them_.

“Come on, Luci!” Inigo called to her. “We don’t have much time left!”

Once they got through, then Naga could close the portal. If Grima went through it, then who knows what she would do to the unsuspecting past? No, they had to go. Turning around, Lucina ran towards the portal with her brother, cutting through Risen, her ears peeled as she heard Grima call out attacks.

 ** _“You will not make it! Thoron!”_ **Grima roared, firing the bolt at her.

The Thoron attack flew towards her, and Lucina gritted her teeth and tried to outrun it—

_“I won’t allow it!”_

Only for Inigo, to throw himself in between her and the attack, shielding her with his own body.

“Inigo!” she screamed, stopping in her tracks as her brother dropped his sword and collapsed to the ground.

“Luci, go!” he yelled at her, pushing himself to his knees, blood soaking through his shirt. “You have to get into the portal! Don’t worry about me!”

“But you’ll _die_!” she choked out. It was only the two of them left; everyone else had already gone through the portal, and their window of opportunity was closing. But how could she leave her little brother behind? She’d lost just about everyone else, but from the beginning, he had stuck by her through thick and thin. He had always been her biggest supporter and always wore a smile on his face _just for her_. She knew that he’d never let her see him scared and uncertain because he didn’t want her to worry about him.

Their parents were already gone. All of the honorary aunts and uncles that Lucina had known were also gone, destroyed by the very thing Inigo was going to sacrifice himself to. Her friends and their cousin had already gone through the portal. It was just the two of them left, and she doubted that Naga could hold the portal open for much longer, even with the two of them there.

“I love you, Luci. Please, go, or it will have all been for nothing! _”_ Inigo gasped out, managing to heave himself to his feet with assistance from his sword, before holding it out in a shaky, unsteady stance. “Make sure you change the future to one where everyone can smile, okay?”

She only had a split second to make a decision, and she hated herself what she was forced to do, even as she whirled around and threw herself into the portal. If she didn’t make it through, then everything that all of them had suffered through would be for nothing – she was the one that wielded Falchion, so she was the one that had to stop Grima.

But she couldn’t help herself and glanced behind her, to get one more look at her brother, as she heard Grima’s voice.

**_“It doesn’t matter if you change anything, Princess. History will correct itself.”_ **

The last thing Lucina saw before the portal enveloped her was Grima’s Expiration spikes piercing her brother’s body and, running, she stuffed her fist in her mouth and tried not to cry.

* * *

After the Expiration spikes were withdrawn and the Prince had crumpled to the ground, Grima turned back to the portal, where Lucina had darted into. Whether Inigo was still alive or not, she didn’t care, the weak Naga spawn would probably die soon anyways. She had more important things to worry about. If Lucina succeeded, then everything she had done would have been in vain.

 ** _“Tsk,”_** Grima grunted as she directed a few of the Risen towards it. **_“She’s getting away. I won’t let you get away, Princess—”_**

“L… Like hell,” Inigo hissed, grabbing Grima’s leg, “am I letting you get her!”

 ** _“Get off!”_** she roared, shaking her leg as Inigo wrapped his arms around it, trying to pull her back. **_“How are you even still alive?!”_**

“Grima…! I won’t… let you…!”

She was much stronger than him, though when it became clear that Inigo had latched onto her leg with a (literal) death grip, she reached down to grab him – she couldn’t risk using Expiration again and hitting her Vessel instead – and simply threw him aside. She was not going to lose her chance.

**_“Stay there and die like a good boy, Inigo.”_ **

* * *

Inigo let out a ‘oof’ as he was thrown to the ground, his eyes widening as Grima ran through the quickly closing portal. He clutched at an injury on his chest and forced himself to his knees.

_No!_

Since everyone else had already gone, he was the only one that knew that Grima had gone through. That meant he _had_ to get back, so that he could warn everyone – but he was bleeding out, and his body was begging him to shut down, but he had to… he just _had to…!_

_Luci, Owain, everyone…!_

A wave of strength and warmth and love filled him, as if someone was offering him their support in his endeavors. Naga? He wasn’t sure. Mentally thanking whoever it was, Inigo used the quickly waning strength to heave himself through the portal, collapsing almost immediately as he went into the light.

His body felt like was being thrown around like a rag doll as he fell through the portal, and when he had finally landed, he hadn’t moved again. Everything was quiet. The strength that had filled him earlier had fully dissipated, leaving him full of pain and feeling cold.

Everything hurt.

It was bright. His eyes blearily opened. He was in too much pain to move, and so he just whimpered, curled up in a ball. Everything felt sticky and it smelt like copper, his head was spinning from blood loss, and the portal hadn’t helped any. Inigo _knew_ that he was dying.

As the blackness overtook him, he could only hope that… Lucina had… succeeded…

By the time the portal winked out, he was already unconscious and didn’t hear the horses galloping towards him.

* * *

There had been quite a commotion earlier that day. Several of the Shepherds had been out on patrol, and they had rushed back with a badly injured child, who had been found alone. They’d used their Concoctions on him to ensure that he didn’t die while they brought him back, and once they had gotten back, he had immediately been given over to the healers to see if he would survive.

While Chrom and Lissa hadn’t seen him, despite their curiosity, since the healers had been busy trying to save him, Emmeryn had gone to visit the boy and learn what she could.

It was when she came back and had summoned her two siblings that she asked them to sit down. Chrom sat, wondering what was going on, and why Emmeryn looked so serious.

Finally, she spoke. “The boy found earlier. It seems that he is our half-brother.”

Chrom and Lissa stared at their older sister. ”What?!” Lissa yelped. “Who?! How?! Why did we not know about him until now?!”

“The healers believe that he is about twelve years old – a few months younger than you, Lissa,” Emmeryn explained. “It would be consistent with… the last time that Father was out of the country.” Even a simple one-night stand before the fateful battle that ended Exalt Deorc could have produced a child.

“But what makes you so sure that he is our relative?” Chrom asked.

“He looks almost exactly like you and Father,” Emmeryn replied quietly. “And we discovered that he has the Brand of the Exalt on his right eye.”

With the mention of the Brand, Chrom sat down, staring at his hands. The Ylissean Brand of the Exalt was proof of their family’s blood pact with Naga, and could not be faked. And the only person with Naga’s blood alive at the time that could have parented this boy was their father. “…So what brought him to Ylisse? Does he want to claim the throne?” If a blood feud happened between a disgruntled relative and them, then it would get rather bloody, and that was the last thing that they needed right now.

“He was found by Stahl and Sully when they were out on patrol, badly injured in a field, and with multiple head injuries. Upon having the healers treat him and then question him, they found that he has amnesia. Due to the head injuries, they believe that his amnesia is trauma-induced.”

“So he remembers nothing?” Chrom asked. How horrible.

“Nothing, not even his name or even how he got hurt. I got the opportunity to speak with him once he had healed enough to wake up – he’s very sweet and shy, though I am not sure how much of this is his natural personality and how much of it is amnesia-based.”

Chrom frowned. “And he was _alone_ , Emm?”

“Yes,” Emmeryn nodded. “Where his mother is, if she is even still around, I have no idea. He looked very thin, like he hadn’t been fed properly, and there was a nearly-worn out sword near him, so I suspect that he might have been on his own for awhile. As far as we know… we would be the only family he has.”

Lissa hopped up. “Oh, oh! Can he stay, Emm? You said he’s my age!”

“Hold on, Lissa,” Chrom said. “You and I haven’t even met this kid.”

Lissa scowled at him. “Chrom! Would you really just throw him out into the wilds? He’s got the Brand – he could easily be recognized by someone that hated Father! Heck, that’s probably what happened to him!”

“Lissa may be right,” Emmeryn said, “and I am inclined towards letting him stay with his only family.”

Naga, Chrom loved his sisters, but they could be bleeding hearts sometimes. He simply sighed. “Alright, alright, but I would at least like to meet him first.”

* * *

The healers had wanted to keep the boy in the infirmary, under their watchful eye, until they could be sure that all of the injuries were properly taken care of and that he wouldn’t injure himself trying to walk. When Chrom had entered, he had immediately spotted the fluffy mop of blue hair, almost identical to his own, on one of the beds.

The boy was sitting up, dressed in a loose white tunic, examining his fingers in a manner that suggested he didn’t know what else to do. He looked drained, Chrom noted, and didn’t seem to glance up at all when the door opened. A few bruises were still on his cheeks and his bare arms, and Chrom felt unnerved as he thought about how horrible it had to have been if this was the work of several high-level healers.

Chrom cautiously approached him, clearing his throat. The boy almost jumped, staring up at him with big blue eyes. Outside of the obvious Brand, they did look a little like his own eyes…

Really, it was unnerving; he looked a _lot_ like Chrom had as a child, and it weren’t for the obvious differences (his hair was fluffier, he was more fine-boned, and of course, the Branded right eye), Chrom would have thought that he was looking at himself in a mirror as a twelve-year-old.

Even through how unnerved he was, Chrom felt… _something_ inside of him immediately. He wanted to take care of this kid. He wanted to make sure that he never got badly brutalized like that again, that there was a smile on that young face.

And if Chrom ever found who had hurt him so badly, then Naga have mercy on their soul.

“Hey there,” Chrom said, keeping his tone friendly as he sat down in a chair next to him. “Do you know who I am?”

The child stared at him, and shook his head. “No.” He at least understood Ylissean, thankfully.

“My name’s Chrom,” he told him. “Does that sound familiar?”

The boy frowned, but this time nodded. “You’re… the brother that Exalt Emmeryn mentioned?” His accent seemed to be an odd mix of Feroxi and Ylissean.

“That’s right,” he replied, a little relieved that he wouldn’t have to go too deep into details. “I just wanted to see how you were doing. You caused quite a commotion among everyone.”

“I think I’m better now,” the boy replied, glancing down at his hands. “I just don’t know what I’m gonna do after they let me go. No one told me much, but everyone thinks that I’m yours and Exalt Emmeryn’s brother because of this mark in my eye.”

“Well, to be fair, it’s a very compelling piece of evidence,” Chrom told him, reaching over to pat his shoulder. The boy stared at him, surprised at the motion, but leaned into it. “You seem like a good kid. Brother or not, we would be more than happy to let you stay here, especially since it seems like my older sister has a soft spot for you.”

The boy smiled at him, and Chrom almost melted. It was the soft, sweet smile of someone that was genuinely happy with what they had just learned. Very much shy and sweet, like Emmeryn had said.

Naga damn it all, even if Emmeryn _hadn’t_ already made the decision to keep him, Chrom would have adopted him then and there. Not to mention, it would be nice to have a brother. He had two sisters, and he was starving for some male company that _wasn’t_ Frederick (who meant well, but was a little… overbearing).

“My name is Laslow,” the boy said after awhile, and Chrom blinked.

“I thought you didn’t remember your name,” he told him.

Laslow sighed. “I don’t. Exalt Emmeryn didn’t want me to go around without a name, so she picked ‘Laslow’. Apparently it’s supposed to be some historical name from a myth?”

Chrom knew that there was a story behind the mythical Laslow, but he couldn’t recall it off the top of his head; that was something that Emmeryn, and even _Lissa_ had taken a little more interest in. He’d probably read up on it another time.

“You would probably have to ask Emm or Lissa about it,” he admitted to the child. “But it’s a pleasure to meet you, Laslow. I hope to get to know you better as time passes.”

Laslow smiled shyly up at him. “You too, Chrom.”

* * *

As time passed, Laslow became healthy enough to leave the healers’ ward, and once he did, Chrom asked him to come with him and Frederick. Curious, the boy followed, tilting his head as they neared what appeared to be a type of training grounds. Frederick, oddly enough, was carrying a… log?

“What are we doing here?” Laslow asked.

“To test something. The Brand is irrefutable proof, especially since it is clearly not an illusion, but there is something else that I want to try.” Without another word, Chrom unsheathed Falchion from his belt, and held it out to Laslow.

Laslow stared at the blade, and then at Chrom with confusion. “I’m sorry?”

“This sword is called Falchion,” Chrom explained to him. “It is a divine weapon created from one of Naga’s fangs that has been passed down for generations. And it will only cut for those that are of the Exalted blood and that it considers worthy.”

Gingerly, Laslow took the sword, nearly dropping it. “Oof! This is heavy… I’m not sure how you lug it around all day.” Still, once he was expecting the weight, he was able to lift it easily.

“Frederick?”

“Yes, milord,” Frederick said, holding the log in front of Laslow.

Laslow stared at the log, and then at the sword, and then lifted it up, surprisingly easy despite the weight, arching it down in a powerful swing. It sliced right through the log like a knife through butter, the two halves falling to the ground in perfectly-split pieces.

No one spoke for a moment.

And then Chrom grinned at him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, and Laslow, to his surprise, found himself leaning against the man, enjoying the heat that was radiating through him. “It seems that you really _are_ family,” he said softly, squeezing him. “Even if you get your memories back, you will always be welcome here with us, Laslow. You have my word on that.”

A large, but shy smile crossed Laslow’s face, and he nodded. “Thanks Chrom.”

“Anytime, little brother,” Chrom murmured, ruffling his hair.

* * *

The longer that they spent with Laslow, the more the Exalted family learned about their half-sibling.

Unlike Emmeryn and Chrom, Laslow easily got embarrassed by the presence of his Brand, and had put an eyepatch on his eye to cover it up so that people didn’t stare. This had resulted in him stumbling around as he got used to seeing with only one eye, causing Lissa to break out into fits of giggles every time she had to nudge him away from a wall.

(Eventually he was able to manage, though he couldn’t deny that not having something on his eye was useful, and therefore started growing his bangs out so that it would make it harder for people to see it, but not as hard for him to see.)

His ability to use Falchion aside, they found that, while a little clumsy likely due to his youth, he had still retained some training, and after ensuring that he was capable of using a Sword, began to take him out on skirmishes with bandits. Laslow was skilled, if but shaky, and generally managed without too many problems.

Lissa had dragged him off to the Shepherds’ garrison to introduce him to everyone else that was there, much to his protests. He’d chosen to hide behind her (which didn’t help much as she was only taller than him by maybe an inch) as the others had come up, only squeaking responses out.

Chrom had watched with some amusement as Vaike attempted to drag him out from behind his sister, as Sully decided that she wanted to toughen him, and as Miriel wanted to use him as a test subject to see if she was able to get his memories back. Frederick, with his imposing stature, still intimidated Laslow despite his constant reassurance to ‘milord Laslow’ that he would never harm him.

In the end, the one that he was most comfortable with was Stahl, who had managed to win him over by offering him some snacks. That was the day that they discovered that Laslow _loved_ food. Given how scrawny and small he was for a twelve-year-old, Emmeryn and Chrom had wondered whether he had been given enough to eat.

“No matter,” Emmeryn had said, her expression melancholy. “He’s with us now.”

With as small as he was, he seemed to enjoy snuggling close to either Emmeryn or Chrom, often found shyly clinging to them whenever they were all out in public despite Lissa’s efforts to drag him to and fro.

He had been introduced to the public as Ylisse’s second-prince and as the youngest, fourth in line for the throne should anything happen to Emmeryn, Chrom, and Lissa (though none of them wanted to die, naturally, and _none_ of them wanted to leave poor, shy Laslow on the throne, either). A quiet, unassuming prince, learning swordplay as was typical of princes in this era, and studying the arts as well after taking an interest in dance.

It didn’t take much time for him to fit in, and soon, he was comfortable with his life.

* * *

_Two years later…_

Laslow trailed along after his siblings, with Frederick near them, glancing back in the direction that those mysterious nobles had disappeared into. He still wasn’t sure about those ‘invisible warthogs’ that they had claimed – those had looked _far_ too much like invisible _people_ , and while they’d been indiscriminate for the most part, they’d been most interested in _him_ – but after they had taken care of those things, they’d camped for a night together with that bunch, who had then disappeared, and had then continued on their way.

A blond man with the nobles had stared at him, _hard_ , when he’d introduced himself as Laslow, Second Prince of Ylisse, with a look of intrigue on his face. Laslow didn’t know why; he didn’t know him, so why would he garner a look like that? Nothing about the man had struck him as familiar, either. In all honesty, the man had looked quite intimidating and Laslow was glad to be gone from his presence.

He didn’t have too much time to worry about them today, though. Lissa had spotted someone collapsed in the field, and she and Chrom had run up to them. Laslow, when he had caught up with Frederick, looked at the person. It was a girl, about his and Lissa’s age, with her pink hair done up in braids.

There was something oddly familiar about her.

“Chrom! Laslow! We have to do something!” Lissa told him.

“Well, what do you propose we do?” Chrom asked, the four of them hovering over the girl.

“Uh, I don’t know!”

The girl cracked her brown eyes open then, looking up at the four of them, confused, and Laslow blinked. For a moment, he had expected her eyes to be _red_ , for some reason.

“I see you’re awake now,” Chrom chuckled.

“Hey there!” Lissa beamed.

“There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know,” Chrom said with a warm smile. “Give me your hand.”

Soon enough, the girl had managed to get to her feet with Chrom’s assistance, though she had curiously known Chrom’s name already. Frederick was naturally suspicious, but the three royal siblings chatted with her easily enough. After he’d introduced Lissa, he also introduced Laslow.

“Laslow?” Robin furrowed her brow for a second, looking confused.

“Hm? Is there something… wrong with my name?” Laslow asked.

“No no, it’s just… have we met before?” she asked him. “There’s something really familiar about you.”

Laslow blinked again, and Chrom and Lissa glanced at each other. “Not that I’m aware of, no. My apologies.” He smiled at her. “I’m sure I’d remember a lady as lovely as you.”

“ _Laslow,_ ” Chrom said with a sigh as the girl laughed. There he went, flirting again.

“I jest!” Laslow grinned at Chrom, who gave him a light shove, and the five of them continued walking after making sure the girl had no injuries. As they did so, Laslow couldn’t help but wonder. If he looked familiar to her, and she looked familiar to him… could they really have met before?

As they continued on, the girl eventually remembered her name – Robin – and they came upon a town being attacked by bandits. Upon discovering that Robin remembered how to fight, and was an excellent tactician, she was put to work helping save the town, and eventually, started heading towards the capital. Eventually, night fell and they set up camp.

Laslow sat down by the fire that they had set up, glancing over at the others. The bear meat had been cooked and they were eating it, with Frederick and Lissa looking not that happy about it… Laslow grimaced and glanced at his own portions. It didn’t taste very good, but it was still food, and that meant that he wasn’t going to waste it. He couldn’t afford to starve by wasting food—

Wait. That train of thought made no sense – he was _royalty_. He frowned at the bear meat for a moment, before starting to eat it. Oh well.

Afterwards, he lay down and tried to catch a few hours of sleep.

* * *

Something was horrifically wrong.

Laslow’s eyes snapped open and he quickly sat up, glancing around them. He could have _sworn_ that he’d felt the ground shake. Robin was fast asleep not too far from him, the pink-haired girl snoring quietly. Frederick and his horse were not too far off, also asleep, and their fire pit was starting to burn low. But Chrom and Lissa were nowhere to be seen.

“Frederick, Robin, wake up!” he called. “Chrom and Lissa are gone!”

Frederick’s eyes immediately flew open, and he softly swore as he climbed on his horse. “Both of you, come with me if you must.”

“Right!” Laslow nodded at Robin. She nodded back, and Frederick led the way into the trees, with Robin and Laslow running behind him.

As they ran, Robin coughed. “Do you guys smell smoke?”

The scent of the wood burning reached Laslow’s nose, and his eyes widened. “No – the forest’s on fire! Chrom! Lissa!” He called. “Where are you?!”

A piercing scream reached their ears, and Laslow thought he felt his heart stop at the thought of his sister in danger. _“Lissa!”_

“This way!” Frederick charged through, and Laslow followed. A flash of light appeared in the sky, and despite his fretting, Laslow stopped in his tracks, staring up through the trees as a strange portal of some kind opened in the air. He couldn’t see it very well, given the distance, but wave of familiarity went through him upon it.

“Laslow!” Robin called, grabbing his hand, and snapping him out of his reverie. “Come on! We have to find your siblings!”

He would worry about the portal later; Robin was right. Forcing his feet to move, he drew his sword and followed after her and Frederick.

* * *

Just when Lucina thought that they were going to be overwhelmed by the Risen, several more people had come to help them. A man and a woman garbed as Ylissean cavaliers, Severa’s dad and Kjelle’s mom, as well as an archer, Noire’s dad, came from one direction, and three more people – Sir Frederick, Robin, and a blue-haired boy that she couldn’t recognize – came as well. With the backup, she, Chrom, and Lissa others were able to rout the Risen that had appeared.

Once the fighting had stopped, Lucina breathed in relief. She’d saved Aunt Lissa. Her father and Robin and the rest of the Shepherds were safe. She hadn’t _failed_ them already.

But this was bad. The Risen should _not_ have been here. That meant that an _Awakened_ Grima was here – possibly the one from her own future, the one that had caught up to them too early and that Inigo had tried and probably failed to stop.

_Inigo…_

Her little brother came to mind, of how he had sacrificed himself for her, of how she had _failed_ him, and she choked back a sob; she couldn’t break down in front of her father yet. She had to tell him what she could of the situation that they were now in.

She hadn’t seen any of the other New Shepherds yet; had they made it back? If so, where were they? How would she tell them that Inigo was dead? How would she tell _Owain_ , their cousin, that Inigo was dead?

“Ah, I suppose I should introduce everyone to you, Marth,” Chrom said. “These are Frederick, Robin, Stahl, and Sully. I’m… not sure who the archer is, but his name is Virion and he is willing to help.” Lucina nodded at Virion, who puffed up. She recognized the Duke of Rosanne, of course, and she knew who the other four were.

“And of course, you’ve met my younger sister, Lissa, and this is my younger brother Laslow.” He gestured to the blue-haired teenager that looked around Lissa’s age, who was standing a little further off, a sword in hand. He was the one that had arrived with Frederick and Robin.

Lucina’s brain halted. _What? Father only had two sisters! Aunt Emmeryn and Aunt Lissa! Why would he only talk about Aunt Emmeryn and never mention Uncle Laslow to me?_

She took a very quick moment to study Laslow; he was between Chrom and Lissa in height, with fluffy blue hair very similar to Chrom’s, though closer to shoulder-length. A lock of his hair was covering his right eye, so that Lucina was unable to see it, and though it was hard to tell with how dark it was and with her mask, his left eye appeared to be blue like hers and Chrom’s. He was dressed in an outfit similar to Chrom’s, but more practical in the sense that both shoulders were covered (though the shield on the left one was reminiscent of mercenary shields), and it was obvious that his outfit had been modified to suit a speedier, less hard-hitting swordsman.

There was something familiar about him, but if he was her father’s brother, than naturally he would look similar to the rest of her family? No, that couldn’t be it…

No, there was no time for that. She had to warn them.

* * *

When all was said and done, the group started to head back to Ylisstol, intending to talk to the Council about these undead creatures. With Marth’s advice, they knew a little more than they had earlier, though the question of how _Marth_ knew about them was something else completely.

“What’s wrong, Laslow?” Chrom glanced over at his brother as they walked back towards Ylisstol. Laslow, however, kept glancing behind them.

“…I could swear that…”

Chrom blinked. “Huh?”

“No, it’s—it’s nothing, nevermind.” Laslow shook his head, and smiled at his brother. “Let’s get back home.”

Still, the nagging feeling that he _knew_ Marth wouldn’t leave his mind. But that was impossible, wasn’t it? Because Marth had come through the portal in the sky according to Chrom and Lissa, and that would mean that _he_ would have come through a portal like that.

And Marth had looked at him as if looking at a complete stranger.

No, Laslow decided, jogging to catch up with Chrom and Robin, there was no way that he could be acquainted with Marth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Awakening:** This is not going to be a chapter-by-chapter retelling of Awakening. Sure, they go through the plot, but I’m going to gloss over a lot of it that doesn’t really add much to this fic. And since it’s not a perfect retelling, events can and will change a bit outside of the main thing. I won’t tell you what; figure it out for yourself!  
>  **Robin:** Robin's appearance is a custom one. If you go to the Custom Robin Generator online, she has Female Build 2, Face 3, Hair 4, and Hair Color 6.  
>  **Before Awakening:** Yes, the Before Awakening DLC occurred in this universe. I can't help tying Awakening and Fates together. It's just an easter egg in this fic, though.


	2. As Swift as Wind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope it doesn't feel like I'm rushing through the story, but like I said before... this isn't a novelization of Awakening.

That night had been only the beginning, with those undead creatures slowly popping up more and more throughout the land. When they’d tried to name them simply so that people would know what they were talking about, the name ‘Risen’ had immediately popped into Laslow’s head and he had suggested it. The term had been accepted, and they had discussed what to do. The Shepherds would be keeping an eye out for Risen, destroying them if they came across them, but the Risen were not their only concerns.

With Gangrel, the Mad King of Plegia, attempting to instigate a war between Ylisse and Plegia due to his hatred, Ylisse went to Ferox to forge an alliance with them, and the East Khan, Flavia, was willing – if the Ylisseans were willing to fight in their election tournament and win against the West Khan’s, Basilio’s, champion, which would make Flavia the ruling Khan.

To their surprise, Basilio’s champion was apparently _Marth_. He had dethroned Basilio’s former champion, his adopted son Lon’qu, and had taken his place for some reason.

“It’s bizarre, that’s what,” Flavia had mused. “When he beat Lon’qu, Marth said he wanted to fight Chrom _really badly_ , so unless he’d already known that I’d wanna use one of you Ylisseans as my champion, there’s no way he’d have known.”

As they approached the arena for the single combat, Robin paused, taking Flavia’s words into consideration. They had originally intended for Chrom to fight Basilio’s champion, as per the original plan, but…

“Robin?” Chrom asked.

“Chrom,” Robin stated, turning towards the prince. “Give Laslow the Falchion and let him fight instead.”

“What? Why?” Chrom asked, befuddled. Laslow looked equally confused.

“If you fight Marth, he is probably expecting you. He talked about fighting _you_ , remember, and that he would counter you? That means he probably understands how you fight, or at least has some familiarity with it. But Laslow… he probably has no idea how Laslow fights. I’ve seen that you two have completely different styles. He’ll be an unknown. Plus, I don’t think it matters to Flavia who fights as long as it’s a representative of Ylisse and that they win.”

“That’s a great idea, Robin,” Laslow said, turning to his brother. “I’m willing to do it. I… I need to represent Ylisse in a manner that won’t be forgotten. We need to win Ferox’s support.”

Fighting in front of a crowd was going to be hell, but Laslow was willing to do it if it meant Regna Ferox supporting them in the war.

“…Alright,” Chrom said, removing Falchion from his belt and handing the blade to Laslow. In return, Laslow handed his rapier to his brother to hold onto. “Promise me that you’ll be careful.”

“I will,” Laslow said with a nod, turning towards the entryway of the arena. The fight would be soon, so he had to make sure that he was ready. Steeling himself, he tried his best to ignore the crowds before entering the ring.

* * *

Lucina froze when she saw who had walked into Arena Ferox’s ring. “…Prince Laslow,” she said trying to hide her surprise. “I was expecting Prince Chrom, not you.”

Laslow smiled brightly at her, and she was barely was able to compose herself. His smile was just like Inigo’s. “Well, hello, Marth! It was going to be Chrom, but there was a change of plans. Actually, we have a question for you.”

“…” No. No, she couldn’t do this. She _couldn’t_. She had to play it cool, she had to be the fierce, mysterious warrior that was going to save them all, because she couldn’t _afford_ to be otherwise.

Her lack of response to his inquiry of a question had the intended effect as Laslow frowned, and raised his blade – was that Falchion? He could use it? –, waiting, as she raised hers. Good. She didn’t have to talk to him right now. She didn’t know _how_ to talk to someone that she had only just met, that she’d never even heard stories of.

“Begin!” came the voice of the officiator.

And the two of them leapt at each other, blades flashing as they clashed against each other and as they parried and dodged each other’s moves. For Lucina, it was taking just about everything that she had in order to stay up on top. She only remembered her father’s lessons on swordplay since he had personally taught her himself and she had practiced them everyday since.

But Laslow fought almost nothing like Chrom. His style was very light, very quick on his feet, and he focused more on outspeeding his opponent than on outmuscling them. It was almost like fighting her brother, but less clumsy and more streamlined. If she _really_ wanted to compare him to somebody, it was more like fighting her mother, now that she thought about it. What an odd thought.

“Marth,” Laslow said as their swords locked, his visible eye fixed on her blade – her Falchion. “Where did you get that? There’s no way…”

Of course he was confused. Both swords in the arena at the moment were Falchions. She still couldn’t understand how she had _never_ heard of a Falchion-wielding uncle, but he at least deserved the title of Ylissean Prince right now.

“Fighting you is like fighting Chrom… who taught you to fight?” he asked her.

“My father!” she blurted out without thinking, wincing afterwards.

“Who is your father?” he asked, swiping at her legs.

“Hmph!” she grunted as she swung at him and almost barely blocked his own swipe. “I’ve said enough for one day, sir.”

“Well well… is that how it is, then?” Laslow grinned as they continued their dance. “Very well then, Marth. If I defeat you, I’d like to have the answers that we seek.” A twirl of his blade, and a wink. “And perhaps a date from the lovely lady?”

Lucina opened her mouth and closed it, only just barely parrying a hit. She was more shocked that he had recognized she was a woman than the fact her supposed uncle was flirting with her. Her disguise had been perfect! “How did you know?”

Only Uncle Lon’qu had seen through it, and that was because he had accidentally collided with her during their fight. Strangely, his fighting skills had immediately deteriorated after that…

“Call it a hunch!” Laslow grinned at her as he dove at her.

The fight didn’t continue for much longer. As they twirled, Laslow feinted, and Lucina ended up falling for it, and she soon found herself on the ground, with Laslow holding his Falchion at her throat. She swallowed, both proud and dismayed at her defeat, and released her sword so that it dropped to the ground.

“I yield.”

She sighed, taking his hand and letting him help her up as the arena roared at Laslow’s victory. To her surprise, _unlike_ her father and aunt, Laslow seemed nervous at the attention.

“Oh gods, everyone’s staring…” He muttered, keeping his eyes fixed on the entryway that he would exit from so that he could avoid looking at the crowds.

“Prince Laslow? Is everything alright?” Lucina asked him, feeling a wave of sympathy. She’d been around enough shy people that it was obvious what the problem was.

Laslow jumped. “A-Ah, yes, of course!” He fidgeted for a moment as Lucina picked her sword up. “On second thoughts… I don’t need that date from you, Marth.”

She blinked, relieved. She didn’t _want_ to date her own uncle; that would be just too weird and _wrong_. “You don’t?”

He shook his head. “I have the strangest feeling that I shouldn’t.” He cleared his throat, and held his hand out to shake hers. “Well fought, Marth; you’re incredibly tough, and for a moment, I thought I was fighting my brother. I admit I was surprised to defeat you. You…” His expression was unreadable, made only more so by the way his hair covered nearly half of his face. “I hope I can fight you again… or perhaps fight with you.”

“Same to you,” she said softly. It had been… relaxing, almost.

Smiling at her, he turned and walked back towards the entryway towards where Lucina knew that the rest of the Shepherds awaited. She gazed at him for a moment, and then turned around to walk away.

…She would like to get to know him better. He seemed to be a good man.

* * *

After returning home to Ylisse with Lon’qu in tow (who, Laslow quickly noted with amusement, Lissa was taking an interest in despite his fear of women) as well as rescuing Maribelle from Gangrel’s soldiers when he had tried to hold her hostage for the Fire Emblem, he was ready to stay in the castle and not have to worry too much about anything.

He felt bad for Chrom; as the direct heir to Emmeryn as she was unmarried with no children, he was kept the busiest between him, Lissa, and Laslow. It was part of why Laslow had agreed to fight in the tournament on his behalf – to give him a chance to _rest_.

As time passed, the Khans, too, came to Ylisse in order to speak more about their alliance. Coming alongside the two Khans, Basilio and Flavia, were a company of soldiers as well as a young pink-haired woman introduced as Basilio’s adopted daughter.

To Laslow’s amusement, Chrom was instantly smitten.

A warm feeling also sprung to Laslow’s chest whenever he thought about Olivia, a desire to see her happy and safe. And yet, just like with Marth, flirting with her felt _wrong_. Not only because she was so shy that she had _run away_ when he’d made an awkward attempt, but because, like with Marth, he’d felt disgusted with himself after he’d done so.

So he’d stopped, and let Chrom flirt with her instead. Instead, he had befriended Olivia and had helped her feel more at home while the Feroxi were in Ylisse.

“She’s cute, isn’t she?” Laslow asked casually as he walked along with his brother back inside the castle after the Feroxi had left.

“What?” Chrom blinked, looking at him.

“Olivia,” Laslow said. “Admit it, you like her.” Since this was the first time he’d seen _his_ brother smitten with anyone, he was eager to have his brother bring someone into the family.

“…Yeah,” Chrom admitted quietly. “I thought you did, too.”

“Well, I like her, but as a friend,” Laslow admitted. “She’s a great dancer, you know? We’ve been practicing together and teaching each other new steps. But romantically… no, I don’t think she’s the woman for me.”

Chrom stared at nothing, though his shoulders had untensed. Had he been worried about that? “…Right now, things are tense, what with everything that is going on. I would… I would like to get to know her better. Maybe court her. And… once peace is established… perhaps wed her.”

“There you go,” Laslow said, squeezing his brother’s shoulder. “She’s someone I’d be happy to have in the family. Plus… you two look perfect together. I can’t imagine you with anyone else.” It was weird how he got a sense of existential dread at the thought of his brother marrying someone else.

“I hope you’re right, Laslow,” he sighed.

* * *

Lucina silently swore as the pieces of her mask collapsed to the ground. She’d killed the first assassin before any damage could’ve been done, but the second assassin had caught her off-guard and she’d had to take desperate measures to ensure that her father hadn’t been hurt.

“Wait you’re—You’re a woman?!” Chrom sputtered.

“And quite the actress, too,” Lucina said cheekily, smiling at her father. Despite how her disguise was ruined, his face looked hilarious. Thankfully, it was far too dark for her Brand to be noticeable. “Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out until just now.”

“You didn’t know?” Laslow asked, raising an eyebrow. Chrom blushed a little bit.

“I didn’t know either,” Robin admitted.

“Seriously? Was I the only one that knew?” Laslow scrunched his nose up in a way that reminded her of her brother and it made her want to grin.

“But this isn’t the time to argue about that – the Exalt’s life is in danger… there are assassins,” Lucina told them, just as an explosion rocked the area.

Whatever questions they had had immediately died in their throats as they immediately ran back to the castle, Lucina darting through the familiar paths towards where Emmeryn’s quarters had been. The sheer fact that the castle had been breached was enough to stop them from wondering whether she was telling the truth.

Thankfully, the castle’s guards as well as the Shepherds were rushing to protect Emmeryn as well. Lucina planted herself in front of Emmeryn’s door, her heart pounding as she fought off any assassin that happened to get too close. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the others as well.

When Yarne’s mother appeared in her bestial form, she yelled at Chrom that Panne was not an enemy – thankfully, they believed her. And when she saw Cynthia’s father among the assassins and Chrom bribe him with candies, she spared herself a small smile.

However, she had underestimated the assassins. And it was her own fault – she hadn’t known exactly how strong they were, and she’d been caught by surprise just earlier – that was why her mask was gone. But the one that came upon her was stronger than the others had been, and she had been knocked aside before the assassin broke through Emmeryn’s door.

“No!” She leapt to her feet, but it was too late: a barbed shuriken had been aimed at her aunt. Helplessly, Lucina watched, almost as if time had slowed down, as it flew towards her aunt Emmeryn. She had failed… she had _failed…_ she wasn’t going to reach Aunt Emmeryn in time, she was going to die just like she had then—

“ _I won’t allow it!_ ”

For a moment, Lucina thought that she was seeing a ghost. A flash of blue, and a figure was in between Emmeryn and the attack, his sword out to intercept it. Gasping, Lucina came back to reality and recognized her uncle, Laslow, who had been injured, nearly falling to the ground as his strength gave out.

“In- _Laslow_!”

Lucina caught up to them just then, stabbing a Grimleal mage with her Falchion just as he was about to deliver a Flux spell on Laslow. Normally, a Flux spell wouldn’t be too bad, but with the bad shape that the fourteen-year-old was in, it could potentially be fatal.

“Are you alright?” Emmeryn asked, frantically brushing a lock of Laslow’s hair aside. Lucina couldn’t see very well, but she could swear that Laslow’s right eye was lighter than his left eye. Laslow sat up, hair falling back over his eye, and clutching at his side as Emmeryn waved her Mend staff at him.

“I’ve had worse, Emm,” he said as his injury healed itself and he stood up. Lucina blinked in confusion. Emmeryn’s lips pursed, but she didn’t comment on it. Laslow turned towards the blue-haired girl. “Is that the last one, Marth?”

“Yes, that should be the last one,” she said, exhaling as she clutched at Falchion. “…Everything is alright now.”

Chrom and Lissa came running up, both looking anxious. She could see the other Shepherds behind them, now joined by Panne and Gaius. “Emm! Are you alright?” Lissa asked, sounding anxious.

“I’m fine,” Emmeryn assured them, drawing her three siblings in a hug. “If it weren’t for Laslow and Marth, I wouldn’t have been.”

“Thank the gods,” Chrom whispered.

Yes, thank the gods indeed, Lucina thought with a sigh. She looked over at her father and her aunts and uncle and smiled. Even if she had been too late, everyone was still alive and well. No one was dead or badly injured.

“Where’s Robin?” Laslow asked. “Chrom, wasn’t she with you?”

Lucina’s eyes widened and she realized there was no sign of the girl. If she remembered the original timeline correctly, then Robin had gone to confront the assassin, but hadn’t gotten a good look at him.

Laslow swore quietly, leaping to his feet, and running out of the room.

“Laslow, wait!” Chrom called, but the younger man was already gone.

* * *

Robin wasn’t alone when he found her.

Laslow didn’t know what the creepy-looking Grimleal wanted with Robin, or why she was looking so unnerved and anxious at his presence, but he knew that it couldn’t be anything good.

“You stay away from her,” Laslow hissed at the man. He couldn’t see him very well, but he was tall, with black hair, and dressed in fancy Grimleal robes.

“You needn’t interfere, princeling,” the Grimleal sneered, opening his tome. “ _Arcthunder!_ ”

“Look out, Laslow!” Robin screamed, tugging him aside just as the spell struck where he had been standing as she fired off another spell. “ _Arcfire!_ ”

The Grimleal was skilled, that was for sure, with his spellwork, and he knew several _incredibly_ dark spells that Laslow had a feeling that even most of the Grimleal didn’t learn, but regardless, it was still the two of them, and just one of him. There were instances where the Grimleal got lucky, such as the one instance a well-timed Arcwind knocked Laslow down flat on his back, but Robin was immediately there to back him up, and so they were able to hold their own.

Truly, the two of them worked well together.

Soon enough, despite being hit with several spells, Laslow twisted his rapier and shoved into his body, panting from exhaustion.

“No… This is… all wrong… How could… you have known the plan…?!” the Grimleal coughed up blood, before his body lay still.

Laslow sighed and withdrew the blade, his expression turning to Robin with concern. Oh, he was definitely going to need some Concoctions or another dose of Emm’s Mend Staff, he winced, feeling the soreness in his muscles. “Robin? Are you alright?”

She nodded, turning to him, though she looked anxious. “Nevermind me – what about the Exalt? Is she safe?”

“She’s safe,” Laslow assured her. “We took care of all the assassins, and Chrom, Lissa, Marth, and the rest of the Shepherds are with her.”

“Thank the gods…” Robin groaned, rubbing her head.

* * *

After speaking with Chrom and the Shepherds (and being thankful it was too dark for them to see her Branded eye), Lucina walked away from the castle, the events of earlier heavy on her mind.

She had very nearly _failed_. Chrom hadn’t been injured, but the assassins had broken into the castle and had nearly killed Emmeryn. If Laslow hadn’t thrown himself in between Emmeryn and the assassin, then Emmeryn would have been killed.

And if she, Lucina, hadn’t been there, then the mage would have killed Laslow and then killed Emmeryn before anyone would have caught up. She would be down two relatives, and Chrom and Lissa would have lost their brother and sister in one night. In addition, thanks to Laslow’s survival, they had been able to identify the assassin and kill him, instead of him getting away despite Robin’s best efforts. While Lucina hadn’t seen him, the description that Laslow gave was a dead-ringer for the future king of Plegia, Validar. Given what he had been responsible for, it all made sense.

A sickening feeling came through her, and she found herself staring back at the castle. Was this where Laslow had also died in her timeline? Had his death been overshadowed by the death of Emmeryn, and that was why she hadn’t known of him?

Falchion’s gleaming had stopped, and Lucina touched the gem with her blade. In that case, this was a huge alteration to the timeline, and with the Ylissean royal family stronger and the Grimleal that had been Plegia’s king _dead_ , hopefully this meant that things would turn out just fine.

* * *

 ** _“How could you fail?! You were supposed assassinate the Exalt and steal the Fire Emblem to ensure history went the way it should, and you fail_ both _tasks?!_** _”_

“It’s not my fault, milord!” Validar practically prostrated on the ‘ground’ of the void he was in, fully terrified of his lord’s fury now that he had finally realized who the one in front of him was. “That damned Ylissean prince got in the way and then had the audacity to kill me!”

**_“Oh, so you are blaming Chrom for your own failures? What could have changed that Chrom would have killed you? He would have been too busy protecting Emmeryn to go after the assassin.”_ **

“N-Not Chrom, milord. The other prince, his brother.”

**_“…”_ **

When he got no response, Validar nervously glanced up at her. She could have been a near duplicate of the pink-haired girl from earlier, aside from the fact she was clearly an adult, and had styled her hair differently.

**“What _other prince? There is only one Ylissean prince, and that is Chrom.”_**

“I-I am referring to Prince Laslow, milord,” Validar gulped, appearing genuinely confused at the fact that she didn’t seem to know of him. “The Prince that appeared out of… out of nowhere.”

**_“…”_ **

Her hand shot out and she grabbed Validar by the hair, tugging him up as she shoved her way into Validar’s memory, her frown deepening as she first watched Validar confront the younger version of her Vessel, and then… the blue-haired teenager garbed in Ylissean royal clothes that had rushed to her Vessel’s defense. That was _definitely_ not Chrom.

Something wasn’t right. She _knew_ that there were only three Exalted siblings – Emmeryn, Chrom, and Lissa. Other than Chrom, there had been no male children, and certainly not one that could pass as Chrom’s near twin were it not for the fact he was clearly a few years younger.

As Validar fought with Laslow and Robin, she watched carefully… and then a carefully timed Arcwind from Validar hit Laslow, blowing him back – and blowing the hair that had been covering his right eye out of his face.

And then she understood.

Dropping Validar to the ground, where he immediately resumed prostrating, she took a deep breath, gritting her teeth in irritation.

 ** _“I understand now why you failed. I’ll be giving you one more chance, Validar,”_** she said, coldly staring down at the man. **_“Do not fail me again.”_**

“I won’t, thank you my lord!” Validar gasped, and she dismissed him – physically – with a hand gesture. Once her servant was gone, her lip curled.

**_“It doesn’t matter little princeling, if you survived and made it back here. Worming yourself into your family, using your foreknowledge to thwart the Exalt’s death, killing my servant… it doesn’t matter. The future refuses to change.”_ **

* * *

And yet, despite saving her that night, despite all their best efforts, Emmeryn had been kidnapped.

While escorting Emmeryn to the north palace to keep her and the Fire Emblem safe, since Plegia wanted it, they had been betrayed by the Hierarch Tomas, and a good portion of the Pegasus Knights had been all but wiped out aside from Captain Phila and those under her command, Sumia, and a young recruit named Cordelia who had warned them. Emmeryn had handed the Fire Emblem to Chrom while she had returned to Ylisse with Captain Phila.

Unfortunately, just as they arrived at Ferox and had met up with the Khans, the news of Plegia kidnapping Emmeryn had reached them, and Laslow could feel the existential dread coursing through him.

The desire to dash to her defense was strong, and with Chrom agreeing to it, he had almost gone then and there. But something held him back – the need to plan, to plot, to _make sure_ that nothing happened.

“I will think of something,” Robin told them all. “I promise.”

Laslow trusted Robin.

* * *

Things had gone according to plan at first.

While trekking across the Plegian desert, they’d rescued a manakete girl named Nowi, along with the man that had been aiding her, a mercenary named Gregor, from Grimleal that had been hoping to sacrifice Nowi to Grima. The grateful Nowi had agreed to help them out as thanks, and Chrom and Laslow had quickly hired Gregor to aid them as well.

Upon reaching the Plegia Castle courtyard and entering battle with the Plegian soldiers after Gangrel refused to surrender, they’d been aided by a war monk named Libra in Naga’s service who had been traveling with others to rescue Emmeryn, though he was the only one left.

Meanwhile, in the chaos, Laslow had found himself face-to-face with a Plegian woman with long, dark hair. She was grimacing and hesitated briefly before opening her mouth to start out a spell. A wave of familiarity hit Laslow.

“Wait!” he called out to her, holding his sword up to defend himself in case she attacked. “Are you with the Plegians? You seem reluctant to fight.”

The woman frowned, pausing. “Death comes to all of us eventually. Why invite it early, fighting for a cause I don’t believe in?”

“Then what do you wish to do?” Laslow asked cautiously. He had the oddest feeling… that if he talked to this woman enough, that she would…

“Let’s just say I’m keeping my options open,” the woman said. “I mean, long live the king and all,” and here Laslow noted the sarcasm in her voice, “but I’d like to keep living as well. And I have a bit of a rebellious streak, I’m afraid. A… dark side.”

“Then why don’t you indulge in that dark side now and fight for our cause?” Laslow said with a wink.

She snorted. “I ought to curse you for that. But… you would trust me? What if this is all just a ploy to plunge a dagger in your back?”

It didn’t take Laslow long to answer. “Maybe it is, but my siblings would trust you. And _I’m_ sure that I can trust you,” he told her.

“Well, that’s odd… Usually when I bring up the backstabbing bit, the discussion is over.” She looked intrigued, and then smirked at him. “Alright then, Princeling. The name is Tharja. Consider me your new ally… For now.”

True to her word, Tharja immediately turned on her former comrades, and Laslow, grinning, continued to fight.

It was going well. The Plegians fighting against them were falling quickly, and soon, the wyvern riders that had been in the sky had fallen as well.

“Robin! Their wyvern riders have fallen! The skies are clear! I’m giving the signal!” Chrom called.

Laslow let out a breath as the Pegasus Knights entered the map. Excellent – things were going to plan. Phila would rescue Emmeryn and fly her away on her Pegasus, the rest of the Shepherds would cover their escape, and they would get out of this with both Emmeryn and the Fire Emblem.

But then the faintest whiff of rotting flesh filled his nose _and oh gods they were everywhere he and his sister and his cousin and the others they needed to run before they found them and wiped them out for their blood for merely existing oh gods they were taking over they were going to die THEY WERE GOING TO DIE—_

“RISEN!” he screamed, alerting the others who hadn’t sensed them; he was always the first to detect Risen, but even then it was already too late.

The numerous Risen had appeared out of nowhere and had begun to fire at the Pegasus Knights. Cordelia and Sumia were lucky enough to avoid the arrows and had quickly landed their Pegasi, but Phila and the others were not so lucky, and all Laslow could do was watch with horror as the Risen took out the entire group, the bodies of the Pegasi and their riders falling.

_Oh gods no no no no no—_

Their advantage was gone, and the entire Ylissean Pegasus Corps had been wiped out outside of Cordelia and Sumia. There were too many Risen between them and Emmeryn. They would never make it to her in time to do something without the Risen reacting. He was going to watch his sister die—

_He was going to watch her die he had to do something HE HAD TO DO SOMETHING._

—But he couldn’t.

Not while Gangrel had the advantage, and not while Gangrel was demanding the Fire Emblem. Lissa whimpered as she sidled up next to him, grabbing his hand, and he held her tightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Robin rapidly muttering to herself in a panic, trying desperately to come up with a plan where they all got out of this alive without surrendering the Fire Emblem or losing Emmeryn.

Lissa squeezed his arm tighter and shook her head at Chrom, pleadingly, and Laslow agreed. It wasn’t worth Emmeryn’s life.

“Gangrel, hold!” Chrom shouted. “…You win. Everyone, lay down yo—”

“No, wait!”

Emmeryn?! Laslow stared up at his sister in horror. What was she doing? They were trying to save her life!

“SILENCE!” Gangrel screamed.

“Emm…” Chrom whispered.

“King Gangrel,” Emmeryn stated, her voice oddly calm despite how loud it was. “Is there no hope that you will listen to reason?”

“You mean listen to more of your sanctimonious babble?! I think not,” Gangrel sneered. “No, all I want to hear now is the THUNK of arrows, and a SPLAT as you hit the ground. Take one, long, last look from your perch. You do so enjoy looking down on people… Then prepare to meet the ground, and your maker! That is, unless someone were to give me the Emblem… NOW!”

Emmeryn just gazed at him, a look of pity in her expression.

“ _Alright!_ ” Chrom yelled. “All right… Emm, I know you won’t approve, but this is my final decision. _Maybe_ someday we’ll face a crisis where _maybe_ the Emblem would’ve helped… But I know for a fact that Ylisse needs you, today! The people need their exalt… And we,” he said, gesturing to himself, Laslow, and Lissa, “need our sister. If those dark days should come, we’ll face them together.”

“Chrom…” Emmeryn smiled at the three of them, gently. “Th-Thank you. I know now what I must do.”

“Emm, what are you—”

“Plegians!” Emmeryn called. “I ask that you hear the truth of my words! War will win you nothing but sadness and pain, both inside your borders and out. Free yourselves from this hatred! From this cycle of pain and vengeance. Do what you must… As I will do. See now that one selfless act has the power to change the world!”

“Emm, no! _No_!”

A cold feeling went through Laslow’s stomach, that sense of existential dread again. Tearing himself free from Lissa, he bolted towards Emmeryn as she stepped closer towards the cliff, Chrom hot on his heels. He was fast and speedy, he _had_ to save his sister, _he couldn’t let his sister die—_

But he was too late.

_“Chrom… Lissa… Laslow… and all my people… Know that I loved you.”_

All Laslow could do was watch with horror as Emmeryn fell backwards off the cliff, and, clapping his hands over his mouth, he sank to the ground, sand covering his legs, and sobbed.

In the back of his mind, a tiny voice so deep inside of him that it might as well be a core part of his very existence, kept whispering one thing.

_I’m so sorry… we failed._

He didn’t even know who he was apologizing to, but he didn’t care.

* * *

Seeing Emmeryn fall backwards made Lucina’s heart stop.

“No no no no no _no!_ ” she screamed, but it was too late. Having not accounted for this happening, she hadn’t known when exactly it would occur, and while it appeared that the Shepherds had made it there, they hadn’t been able to stop Emmeryn’s death. “I’m too late…”

Her steps faltered, and she stopped, the desert sands blowing around her, and she collapsed, sitting on her knees as she tried not to cry.

It had been Emmeryn’s death that had set off the chain of events that had led to ruin. A lot of little things had led to it, but that was the biggest key point. Lucina had hoped that, by preventing her assassination from occurring, that she had fixed it.

But it had all been in vain.

She had traveled back in time. She had wanted to save them all. Her family, their friends, her friends, everyone that had died in her time from Grima. She had breathed a sigh of relief at first; she had prevented _many_ things from occurring: Chrom’s injuries while fighting Lon’qu and the assassins in the courtyard. Emmeryn and Laslow’s deaths and the theft of the Fire Emblem. Validar ascending the throne of Plegia. And so many other things.

She had told herself that, with these events never occurring, Grima would never rise, that the future would be _safe_. That’s Inigo’s sacrifice to ensure she made it back wouldn’t have been for nothing.

**_“It doesn’t matter if you change anything, Princess. History will correct itself.”_ **

Grima’s words echoed in her head, and Lucina nearly vomited onto the desert sands, clutching at herself as she started sobbing. “Our bleak future is written once more… and darkness awaits us all.”

The Exalt was dead, again.

Emmeryn was dead, again.

Her aunt was dead, _again_.

_Father, Mother, Inigo, Owain, everyone, I’m sorry. We failed._

* * *

Laslow stared blankly at nothing as the carriage rumbled through the road, the lightning from the storm flashing around them. They had barely escaped, having slipped past the Plegian soldiers led by that man, Mustafa, whom they had been forced to cut down. Everything had been a blur, and he only vaguely remembered fighting in the rain and holding tightly onto Lissa and Robin to make sure that he didn’t lose them.

The image of Emmeryn throwing herself off and falling to her death would forever be fixed on his mind, and tears welled up in his eyes again. Beside him, Lissa was sobbing hysterically as she buried her face in Lon’qu’s side. Across from him was Frederick, as well as Chrom, with Olivia next to him, the three of them subdued. Chrom was trembling, as if unsure of what to do.

On his other side, Robin was gripping his hand, and she was quietly crying as well. Swallowing, Laslow buried his face in her hair, clutching her tightly. He knew that guilt was plaguing her, as she was their tactician, that she felt that she should have come up with a better plan… but he, and his siblings, couldn’t blame her. She was only one person.

As for him, he was absolutely devastated at losing Emmeryn; they had been close, and she had been like a mother to him ever since he had first arrived at Ylisstol – warm, comforting, loving – and had made him feel welcome and not an unwanted intrusion into their carefully structured lives. He’d spent many late nights snuggled up to her when he’d been younger.

And yet he felt… numb. As if he was used to losing the people that he loved. He’d accepted that his father, the former Exalt of Ylisse, was dead (he had no memories of the man; whenever he thought of his father, he could only envision an older Chrom, and gods, it was embarrassing thinking of his brother as being his father figure), and whenever he thought about who his mother could have been, he caught a flash of pink hair as well as a wave of intense grief. Yes, he was sure that his mother was dead as well.

_It should have been him, not his sister._

The thought came to Laslow’s mind unbidden, and he silently agreed with it. He squeezed Robin against him and exhaled as the carriages continued to roll.

There was absolutely nothing that he could do.

* * *

They didn’t have time to mourn Emmeryn’s death, and the fact that they had never recovered her body made Laslow feel sick. After they had escaped, they’d spent some time emotionally recovering, while figuring out when the best time to strike Gangrel would be.

After checking to make sure that Lissa was being well taken care of – Maribelle and Sumia had promised that they would take care of her – Laslow had gone off to see if he could find Chrom.

“Olivia?” he called, seeing the pink-haired woman. She started, but when she saw it was Laslow, she smiled back at him.

“Wh-what is it?” she asked him, stepping a little closer.

“Have you seen my brother?” He asked.

“O-Oh…” Olivia trailed off, biting at her nails for a moment before nodding. “He was still at the meeting tent… I think he was going to keep planning.”

“At this hour?” Laslow muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “This… this isn’t going to help.”

Olivia’s shoulders slumped. “I tried to tell him that, but he wasn’t listening…”

“Thank you, Olivia,” he said, leaning forward and giving her a hug. She accepted it, as he had, somehow, become one of the few people that she didn’t mind it from.

She sniffled for a moment, and he squeezed her before releasing her. “Smile, alright?” he said softly. “I’ll go find him.”

“O-Okay.” Olivia patted him on the arm, managing a weak smile as Laslow went off towards where she had told him his brother was.

“…Chrom?” he called softly, slipping inside.

The other man was staring at some maps, muttering to himself as he tried to write something down, before throwing his pen aside. “…What?” The anger and hatred he saw in Chrom’s eyes was alarming.

“Chrom, you can’t keep doing this,” Laslow said softly.

Chrom slammed his fist down on the table and held his head in his hands. “…”

Laslow cautiously took that as a sign to step closer, and he sat down next to his brother, placing a hand on his shoulder. After a moment, Chrom finally spoke.

“…We tried so hard. We—it wasn’t supposed to happen this way. We were supposed to keep Emm safe, and now she’s… she’s…”

“I know,” he whispered, feeling a lump welling inside of his throat again. “W-We all miss her, Chrom. She was mine and Lissa’s sister too.” Emmeryn had been more like a mother to him, however. He remembered her holding him, smoothing his hair back, murmuring quietly to him on nights when he had particularly bad nightmares…

“What… what do I do, Las?” Chrom finally whispered. “All I can think about is getting revenge on Gangrel, making him pay for what he did to Emm.”

“No, Chrom,” Laslow said, squeezing his shoulder. “That’s not what we should do. I… I think we should do what Emm would. Offer him one more chance to stand down… but if he refuses, then I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do.”

Chrom didn’t say anything, but Laslow continued speaking. “…Robin’s been working with us and the Khans to come up with a good plan. I _promise_ that we’ll succeed this time. That we’ll make Ylisse safe, that we’ll foster in the era of peace that Emm would have wanted for Ylisse.”

“…I hope you’re right,” Chrom sighed, but he looked over at Laslow and smiled, before reaching up to ruffle his hair. “I’m glad you’re around.”

Laslow smiled back at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Olivia:** Look. I love Chrom/Olivia, it is my favorite pair for the BOTH Of them (or I wouldn't write so much Chrom!Inigo). But the way they were paired in the game was VERY rushed, so I tried to change that a little bit.


	3. Spring Radiance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter 3! I think the first scene is one of my favorite scenes in the entire fic.

True to their word, they had defeated Gangrel.

Unexpected aid had come in the form of the majority of Plegians refusing to fight. Laslow’s heart had soared when he’d realized that Emmeryn’s words had gotten through to them, after all – that they, too, were tired of this war that Gangrel had been nudging for. And though Gangrel’s defeat meant that there was now a power void in Plegia, hopefully a king that did not wish for war would be elected.

In the excitement of the aftermath party, Chrom had proposed to Olivia.

 _Finally_ was all that Laslow could think, watching with amusement as Olivia laughed in a manner that he had never seen before as Chrom swung her around happily. The rest of the Shepherds were cheering, with several of them, especially Vaike, slapping Chrom on the back or excitedly hugging Olivia – Lissa, for one, had tackled Olivia and was excitedly squealing about the fact they would now be sisters.

Laslow was beaming ear-to-ear. As he watched Chrom take the throne of Exalt, though remained a Prince in name out of respect for his sister, before the wedding celebrations with Olivia took place, he felt himself relax.

This was how it should be. He knew it in his soul. Chrom and Olivia should be married.

The wedding party had been joyous and eventful. Chrom and Olivia had taken the first dance, and afterwards, Laslow had eagerly danced with his new sister-in-law while Chrom had spun Lissa around. When Laslow finally stopped to take a break, he caught sight of a familiar woman leaning against one of the walls.

Grabbing two glasses of champagne, he approached her. “Hello, Marth.”

Startled, she blinked at him. Laslow couldn’t help but note that she was wearing an eyepatch on her left eye. Was she injured? “Oh, Prince Laslow…”

“It’s been awhile since we saw you, Marth,” he told her, handing her one of the drinks. She accepted it, and managed a small nod. “I hope you’ve been well.”

“I’ve been well,” Marth admitted. “…I thought that I should not miss this.”

“Chrom and Olivia’s wedding?” he prompted. She nodded. “Understandable. This is a rather large celebration, after all. The Exalt married his future Queen.” He stood beside her, taking a few sips of his own drink.

Marth was silent for awhile, tipping the glass back to drink down the champagne that he’d given her. “…I’m glad that I got to see this.”

Her voice was heavy with emotion, and Laslow glanced at her with concern. “You are?”

“I- yes,” she admitted, setting her mostly empty glass down. “It’s… like a dream. I’ve wanted to see something like this for so long.”

“You should come out and enjoy yourself, then,” he told her gently. “I’m sure Chrom would be happy to see you here. He’s fond of you.”

She glanced down at her feet. “Perhaps.”

Laslow hummed for a moment, setting his own glass down. “Say… do you care for dancing?”

“Dancing?” Marth tilted her head. “Yes, I do enjoy dancing. I learned when I was younger.”

He smiled warmly at her, and held his hand out. “In that case, shall we dance?”

* * *

Lucina swallowed, a little astonished at the offer. “…I thought you said you didn’t want to flirt with me?” she asked him.

Laslow chuckled. “I’m not flirting with you, despite how surprised people would be to hear that. But I consider you a good friend, and I do wish to see you happy, Marth.”

A good friend… to see her happy… Lucina took a deep breath, forcing away the tears that were coming to her eyes. She hadn’t danced with anybody in so long, not with her family, not with her friends, and she had been so, _so_ lonely ever since coming back in time. She’d arrived at her parents’ wedding, content to see them young and happy and married…

But here was her uncle, one that she had never met, offering to be her dance partner, at an event that she would love to make memories at.

Her smile much more genuine, she grabbed his hand. “Yes, then.”

“There we go.” Laslow winked at her. “You’re so much prettier with a smile, Marth.”

Feeling a lot more lighthearted, Lucina giggled and let Laslow lead her on the dance floor, his hand on her waist and her hand on his shoulder, the two of them performing a traditional ballroom waltz that Lucina had only learned the steps to as a child. But he was patient, and gently corrected her mistakes until they were both crossing the floor flawlessly.

He was a _fantastic_ dancer. He led her confidently and readily, at a pace that Lucina was able to keep up with, almost as if the blood of dancers was in him like it was in her. His dancing style was almost like her mother and Inigo’s, and Lucina thought that, if she closed her eyes, and pretended, this was actually her brother she was dancing with.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Chrom’s eye, and he grinned happily upon seeing her, and she couldn’t help but smile back at him as he nudged Lissa and gestured to her. Lissa’s eyes brightened excitedly and she waved enthusiastically at her. Even if she couldn’t reveal herself as Chrom and Olivia’s daughter, her family was _happy_ to see her.

It was… nice.

As Laslow twirled her, Lucina laughed out loud, truly enjoying herself for the first time in years. She would have to leave again once the wedding celebrations were over, since it wouldn’t be _proper_ for her to join the Shepherds – and risk having her secret blown wide open – but she would be happy to keep in touch with her family this time.

Once their dance was done, Laslow slowed down, and released her. “Did you enjoy yourself?” he asked her.

Lucina nodded, grasping at his hands. “I… I did,” she told him. “Thank you so much.”

He squeezed her hands. “Are you alright? You’re crying.”

Startled, Lucina reached up to her face, noting the trail of wetness that was going down her cheek; when had she started crying. “I… y-yes, I’m sorry. I was just… enjoying myself so much.” He still had that concerned look on his face, so she stared down at their feet. “You… remind me of someone very dear to me.”

“I do?” he asked.

Lucina swallowed. “Yes. Someone I loved dearly. He was a fantastic dancer, and he always knew how to cheer me up when I was feeling hopeless. But… he’s gone now. Dead. I’ll never see him again…”

“Oh Marth…” Laslow’s voice was sympathetic, genuinely saddened. “I’m so sorry.”

Of course he would understand how she felt. He’d lost a sister. “It happened some time ago,” she said softly. “But it still hurts.”

Laslow touched her cheek. “It will hurt, just like how losing Emm still hurts for me. All we can do, though, is keep moving on, and living for them. What do you think he would want you to do right now, Marth?”

She thought about it for a moment. “…I think… he would want me to keep smiling. To do what I set out to do, no matter what.”

“There you go, then,” he told her. “Then that’s what you should keep doing.”

Right… Laslow was right. “You’re right,” Lucina said, and before she could stop herself, she stepped forward and hugged him, tightly. He smelled warm, familiar, like family. “Thank you, Prince Laslow. This was the most enjoyable evening I’ve had in a long time.”

“It’s not a problem, Marth. And just Laslow is fine. Like I said, we’re friends, aren’t we?”

Friends…

“Yes we are,” she agreed.

* * *

After Chrom and Olivia’s marriage, other seeds of love began to sprout in the air between the various Shepherds. The first after them were Stahl and Cordelia, who had worked together long enough and had truly loved each other in a manner that wasn’t infatuation (while Chrom had been blind to Cordelia’s infatuation with him, Laslow had not been, and was mildly relieved that she had found true happiness elsewhere).

Kellam and Sully soon paired off with each other as well, with Laslow a little surprised at how well they bounced off of each other, but finding it completely natural in the grand scheme of things. Donnel, a villager that they had recruited after saving his village from bandits, took Nowi to his village when she admitted she wanted to live in a quiet place where she had a lot of space to roam, and the two had soon invited everyone to their wedding (it had been an interesting affair, though Laslow had to admit that the food Donnel’s ma had cooked had been delightful).

Ricken and Maribelle were childhood friends; it was no surprised to him that they hooked up. Hopefully, Ricken would help Maribelle become a bit more down-to-earth, and Maribelle would be able to help Ricken become more responsible and less childish. Shockingly, Virion’s intensive flirting had worked on one person – _Tharja_. Despite everyone’s bafflement at this odd pairing, the two of them seemed to be happy together?

The only thing stranger was the wedding of Libra with Panne. The Taguel, despite her constant claims that she did not like humans and only tolerated their presence due to the debt her warren owed, seemed to be considering the Shepherds her new warren and had even decided to settle down with one of them. She had even seemed interested when Libra had mused about opening a home for homeless children.

The sugar-obsessed thief Gaius had fallen for Sumia. It was just as well, Laslow noted. Sumia was a rather talented pie-maker, and Gaius had a thing for her pies. She could easily keep up with his sugar cravings, and he was more than careful enough to make up for her clumsiness.

And finally, just earlier, Lon’qu had proposed to Lissa. Apparently constant exposure to Lissa had helped him swallow down his fear of women… at least, to her.

Seeing love blossoming in the air with all the Shepherds, Laslow, not for the first time, mused about what it would be like to settle down and start a family. Perhaps he could even have a son and a daughter, teach them how to fight and how to dance… he’d like to name his future daughter Soleil, but he hadn’t thought up a name for a boy yet. Maybe he’ll leave that to his future wife.

But most of the Shepherds were already engaged or married, and of those that he knew well… he wasn’t interested in Miriel that way, and the mere thought of approaching Robin made him blush, stammer, and want to run and hide so she _wasn’t_ an option, obviously.

His only friend outside of the Shepherds was Marth, the two of them becoming close to each other as they occasionally met up (though Marth, for whatever reason, kept refusing to join the Shepherds). The only issue was that no matter how close he got to Marth, and no matter how much he loved her, the love that he felt for her was the same type of love that he felt for Chrom, Lissa, Emmeryn, and even Olivia; the love of someone that he considered family, but not a romantic interest. So she was not an option.

And while he was sure he could easily find someone… he couldn’t be sure they’d just marry him for money.

For now, though, he would just have to keep dreaming, traveling on missions for Ylisse, and working towards the future that he wanted.

* * *

_One year later…_

Laslow had been leading a contingent of Shepherds through the desert, chasing a rumor of the Goddess Staff at his siblings’ request, and they had managed to locate the staff. After lauding their good fortune, they had been making their way out when they found the man collapsed in the desert.

Instantly fearing that he might be dead, Laslow ran towards him.

When he reached him, he carefully rolled the man over. He was taller than Laslow, perhaps about his age judging from his features, dressed as a mage. His hair was as snow white as a Plegian’s and he had glasses, but his other features and the mage outfit he was wearing appeared closer to Ylissean. He was breathing, but it was shallow, and his eyes were open, but unfocused.

“Water!” Laslow ordered as soon as they had managed to get him into a tent. A soldier hurriedly brought him some, and he gently tipped some of the water into the man’s mouth.

The man coughed and managed to sit up, looking confused and dazed.

“Are you alright? Take it easy, you may have heatstroke,” Laslow told him as he helped him drink more water. “A healer is on their way.”

Greedily, the other gulped down most of the water in the waterskin, coughing once again before he let Laslow take it away. “…I must offer my thanks for your assistance,” the mage told him. “I had become turned around and was unaware of my location.”

“Glad you’re alright,” Laslow said, smiling. “Who might you be?”

The mage seemed to stare at him for a moment, as if trying to see something. After a moment, though, he shook his head, apparently dismissing whatever thought he had had, and sat up, reaching over to take his battered hat in his hands.

“My name is Laurent,” he told him. “I am but a traveler, seeking knowledge in the world. “And… you are Ylissean royalty, are you not? Prince Chrom?”

“Huh? No, sorry,” Laslow said. “My name is Laslow. Chrom is my older brother.”

“…That doesn’t make any sense,” Laurent muttered quietly, as if trying to understand something.

“Sorry?”

“Ah, regrettably, just a stray thought,” Laurent told him. “So, you are Prince Laslow of Ylisse, then?”

“That’s right!” Laslow smiled at him. “I help my brother, Chrom, lead the Shepherds. That’s how we found you out here.”

“Intriguing,” Laurent said, raising an eyebrow. “In that case, Prince Laslow, as gratitude for your assistance, I wish to join your company of Shepherds.”

“Oh!” Laslow’s eyes widened for a moment. “Are you sure? We do travel a lot, but we regularly return to Ylisse and stay there for weeks on end.”

“I am a researcher and a traveler,” Laurent said. “And traveling with the Shepherds is the most logical course of action if I wish to learn as much as I can about this world. I am well-versed in magic, both Ylissean and Plegian, and will gladly assist you. Traveling with a contingent is the wiser course of action than continuing to travel alone.”

A huge smile crossed Laslow’s face, and he held his hand out to take Laurent’s. “In that case, welcome to the Shepherds, Laurent.”

Laurent took his hand, with a surprisingly steady grip for a mage, and offered a small smile. For some reason, Laslow got the impression that Laurent didn’t smile a lot, so he was pleased about this.

* * *

Laurent was excellent company, Laslow decided. The mage was rather quiet about his past and where he had come from, other than the fact that he was half-Ylissean and half-Plegian, but he was pleasant enough, and he was, as he had promised, well-versed in magic. At the same time, he rather enjoyed experimenting with new spells, and all Laslow could think of was that he was just like Miriel.

Occasionally, he would catch the mage glancing at him with a confused expression, as if Laslow as a puzzle that needed to be solved, but continuously dismissing whatever came to his mind. It wasn’t something that he understood, but he was sure if it was important, that Laurent would bring it up to him.

After performing several more tasks for local villages as a sign of goodwill, it had been time to head back to Ylisstol, catchup with Chrom, Olivia, Lissa, and Lon’qu, and introduce Laurent to the rest of the Shepherds that hadn’t accompanied him.

What happened next was sheer luck.

Noticing that they’d been running low on supplies and that a few of their weapons had been on the verge of breaking, Laslow had headed for the first traveling merchant’s cart that he had found; it wasn’t an Anna’s cart – they had a rather distinct style – but this one would do.

There were two voices; one he didn’t recognize, but the other…

No. He was dreaming. Still, he ran forward, knowing that it was probably _not_ , but he turned the corner of the cart to spot the merchant, a pink-haired woman that looked vaguely familiar, and…

It was her. She stared at him with surprise, and relief.

Laslow’s hands trembled, and he stared at the figure in front of him, unable to truly believe what he was seeing. His soldiers, upon seeing what had caught his attention, fell silent as well. Even Laurent, who as far as he knew, had never met her, had fallen silent as well, taking his glasses off as if trying to get a better look.

“E… Emm?” Laslow asked, not daring himself to hope as he stepped forward.

“Laslow,” she said, a warm smile crossing her face. She held her arms out as Laslow ran toward her and threw himself in them, sobbing hysterically.

“Oh gods… you’re alive! Emm, you’re alive and whole!”

As it turned out, Emmeryn had been found in critical condition by a traveling Plegian merchant. The merchant, a woman with pale pink hair named Passerine, had nursed her back to health as best as she could with only Potions and Concoctions to work with. Emmeryn had only recently become fit enough to walk around for extended periods of time. She had covered up her Exalt’s brand with her hair and a headband, and had traveled with Passerine as her assistant (much to the merchant woman’s horror, Laslow noted with some amusement) until she could discreetly travel back to Ylisse.

Emmeryn wrapped her arms around Laslow, lovingly tucking his head against hers and stroking his hair as he cried all over her. “I’m alive, Laslow. I promise.”

After a few moments, Laslow managed to pull himself away from Emmeryn, wiping at his eyes and face so that he looked somewhat presentable, and bowed to Passerine. “Thank you so much for rescuing my sister; this really means the world to us. Please, if there is anything that we can do for you, I know that will do everything in our power to grant it.”

Passerine smiled at them and shook her head. “There’s no need, Prince. I only ask that you relay a message to someone from me.”

“We’d be delighted to,” Laslow said, standing up straighter and smiling kindly. “To whom and what would the message be.”

Passerine seemed to struggle with herself for a moment. “Please tell Robin that I am proud of her and that once it is safe, and the true threat dealt with, I would love to reconnect with her.”

Laslow’s eyes widened. “Wait—you’re—”

“…I’ve said too much. Will you relay my message, Prince of Ylisse?”

“Yes. I will relay the message,” Laslow nodded dimly.

Shaking his head, he grabbed Emmeryn’s hand, and the two of them went back to the Shepherds and soldiers accompanying them. “We head back to Ylisse,” he told them, before turning to Emmeryn again.

“Oh, Emm… Chrom, Lissa, and I missed you so much,” he told her. “I can’t wait to show them to you.”

She smiled at him. “I haven’t seen them in far too long. I can’t wait.”

* * *

Bringing his sister back home to Ylisse was one of the best feelings that he had ever had.

He’d seen Chrom and Lissa _freeze_ in their tracks, and when Emmeryn had called their names, the two of them had run towards her and, laughing, all four of them had entered a group hug, as they all excitedly caught her up on what had been going on, with the marriages of the vast majority of the Shepherds along with Olivia’s pregnancy.

With Emmeryn now back as the Exalt of Ylisse, and Chrom back as the Prince, Chrom could now join Laslow out on the field, and the two of them went out on many missions.

Though Laslow had worried about Laurent, the newest Shepherd, fitting in, since the other Shepherds had bonded quite well with each other already, it seemed that he was doing just fine. Laurent had stared at Miriel in surprise, but had immediately become fast friends with her as Laslow had predicted. Miriel, also, seemed delighted to have someone that finally understood her and that she could relate to.

“Two peas in a pod,” Laslow had muttered. Well, they were happy, at least.

Once he’d delivered Passerine’s message to Robin, she had stared at him, very quietly, and had then stared down at her boots, lightly touching the cloak she was wearing.

“…Thank you, Laslow. I… look forward to reconnecting with her and seeing what I can learn,” Robin said softly.

And for while, it was very, very peaceful.

* * *

Unfortunately, the peace didn’t last.

Two years after the the death of Gangrel, not long after the birth of Chrom and Olivia’s daughter, Lucina Marth Lowell (whom Laslow _absolutely adored_ ), they’d caught wind of someone conquering the majority of the Valmese continent – Walhart, the Conqueror – and that he had his sights set on the Ylissean continent later.

With little to their names to fund the war with Valm, the Ylissean-Feroxi alliance had gone to Plegia (recruiting a woman named Cherche and her wyvern Minerva on the way into the Shepherds) to see if they would be understanding enough. He wasn’t comfortable there, but it is a necessary evil, as well as backup for Chrom.

Laslow could feel Robin gripping his hand tightly as they stared at King Validar. He was sure that this was the man that had been behind Emmeryn’s first attempted assassination, that they had _killed,_ but it had been dark, and neither of them had been able to see them too well. Perhaps it had just been someone that had resembled him? A sibling or another relative, or just a coincidence? Validar denied knowing them, but he couldn’t be sure…

But people couldn’t come back from the dead, correct?

Regardless, the negotiations seemed to be going a little too well. Validar had generously offered a lot of gold, warships, and supplies, though had pointed out that he was unable to offer soldiers, but what he had offered would be enough.

Then just before they had left, Validar had made one request: to introduce the Hierophant, the highest-ranking Grimleal, to them.

Laslow was uncomfortable, and he could tell that Chrom, Robin, and Frederick were as well. But they had no reason to refuse, and soon enough, the figure had walked into the room.

Robin smiled a little to try to seem friendly before speaking. “So you lead the people in worship? We were just discussing religion earlier.” However, the Hierophant didn’t say anything, simply stared at them underneath their hood. “…I’m sorry, have I said something to offend you?” She asked, managing to stop herself from sounding uncertain.

 ** _“…The heart still sleeps, but the blood flows through it,”_** the Hierophant murmured _. **“And the blood is strong…”**_

“Huh?” Robin frowned in confusion. “Beg your pardon, were you talking to me?”

“Good Hierophant,” Frederick finally said. “I would ask you to lower your cowl. In Ylisse, it is a courtesy expected of one in the presence of royalty.”

 ** _“…You are a long way from Ylisse, sir,”_** the Hierophant said slowly. **_“But very well…”_**

When the Hierophant’s hood was pulled back, Chrom, Robin, and Frederick gasped in surprise, but Laslow was rooted to the spot. No, it wasn’t the fact that she looked unnervingly like an older Robin, even more than Passerine had, which was clearly the main shock to the other three that were in the room with him. Not at all.

It was the piercing red eyes.

They were exactly the ones that appeared in his fragmented memories.

* * *

The thought was in Laslow’s mind long after they had finally left Plegia Castle, trailing alongside the others as Chrom, Frederick, and Robin furiously had a whispered discussion about the Hierophant’s unnerving appearance.

“Laslow?” His brother’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he quickly turned to look at Chrom.

“Y-Yes, Chrom? Did you need me to help you with something? Oh! Perhaps we need to head back to the camp and rendezvous and tell them the good news about the supplies! And then—”

“Are you alright?” Chrom asked him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Robin and Frederick watching him with concern. “You’ve been acting strangely ever since we were at Plegia Castle.”

So had they, Laslow wanted to say, but he had a feeling that deflecting the topic wouldn’t work this time – not with his behavior. “…The Hierophant. I know her.”

Robin’s concerned face turned to shock, and even Chrom and Frederick looked alarmed. “What?! How?! Why didn’t you mention this before?!”

“Because _I don’t know how I do_ ,” Laslow told them, gritting his teeth. “But the moment that I heard her voice, a-and saw her face… something inside of me… I definitely know her. But I just don’t _remember_.”

“Laslow…” Robin bit her lip.

“I’m sorry,” Laslow said, turning his face away. “I don’t know. I _don’t know_. I can’t… When I try to push further, to understand why… my head starts to hurt.”

Chrom touched his shoulder. “You don’t have to push yourself; your health is more important than your unknown past,” he firmly said. “Come on. Let’s get back to camp.”

“…” Laslow wasn’t sure about that – he had a feeling that how he had known the Hierophant was _incredibly_ important – but he let the subject go.

What good was knowing that he’d known her if he couldn’t remember _how_?

* * *

After being reunited by the Shepherds and being besieged by a pack of Risen in the night (which the four of them were sure that Validar had sent, but couldn’t predict), they’d recruited a Plegian named Henry. While Chrom had initially been reluctant, given Henry’s… interesting behavior, nevertheless he was still willing to help them as he had little fondness for the Grimleal’s current regime. Besides, Laslow found himself trusting Henry almost immediately.

He’d been thinking about where they would go next, and what they would do, when Olivia ran up to him and Robin.

“Oh, Laslow, Robin…” Olivia asked. “Have you seen Chrom? Frederick and the others are looking for him.”

Laslow frowned. “I think I saw him over there.”

“I saw Marth assist him from a Risen,” Robin said, pointing. “She then said she wanted to talk to him, so they went a little ways off.”

The three of them started to walk over, not quite able to hear the conversation that was going on between the two. To Laslow’s utter surprise, Marth started crying and threw herself into Chrom’s arms. Chrom hugged her back, and then, to his horror, pressed a tender kiss to her hair.

Olivia froze.

Laslow couldn’t blame her. He himself couldn’t _believe_ what he was seeing. While Chrom had plenty of close female friends, like Robin, that he hugged, so him hugging Marth wasn’t unusual, but he never kissed them so intimately unless they were family, like Lissa or Emmeryn or his baby daughter. “Oh my gods. Olivia, I am so sorry. I might be a literal bastard, but Chrom is a _true_ bastard.” He cleared his throat. “ _Prince Chrom Anri Lowell_.”

Chrom and Marth sprang apart, turning around to face the two of them, and without warning, Laslow marched straight up to the two of them, watching them both unflinchingly… before he punched Chrom in the shoulder.

“Ow! What was that for?!”

“It’s just that… you two are out here alone, Marth is crying, and you’re _kissing_ her. This is how ill rumors are born, Chrom,” Robin stated as she slowly came up near them. Olivia had started crying into Robin’s shoulder at this point, and Robin had hugged her tightly as Laslow stepped back towards the two of them.

“Oh, Chrom… I thought we would last forever!” Olivia didn’t even look up at him as Laslow gently patted her on the shoulder.

“Olivia?” Chrom looked confused. “Why are you crying?”

“It’s alright… she’s b-beautiful, and your happiness comes first…” Olivia dissolved into a slew of tears, unable to take it.

“We have to tell her, Lucina,” Chrom said.

“Of course.”

“Lucina?” Olivia asked, prying her face away from Robin’s shoulder. Her eyes were red, but she had managed to stop bawling. “I don’t understand…”

“Olivia, this is going to come as a shock, but… I’ll just say it, then: This is our daughter.”

 _What_.

“Do you think I’m an _idiot_?!” Olivia’s despair had been replaced by sheer anger, and even Laslow felt his eyebrow twitch, and yet…

Wait. He turned and stared at his friend. Now that he thought about it, she _did_ look incredibly familiar – he’d thought that from the start. Blue hair, exactly like his and Chrom’s, from the future, Falchion by her side… and the Brand of the Exalt in her left eye, just like little Lucina’s.

“Oh my _gods_.”

* * *

After assuring Olivia that, indeed, she was hers and Chrom’s daughter, Lucina explained her story then, of the time that she had come from, of the future of despair, ten years from now. She was a fantastic storyteller, and Laslow found himself quickly growing more enraptured and more horrified.

He found it very easy to visualize the horror of the timeline that she had come from, the timeline that she so desperately wanted to prevent. Of the fires that had taken Ylisse, of the massive packs of Risen that roamed the lands, of the despair that she had felt.

All caused by the resurrection of Grima, the Fell Dragon, whose very name had an icy blade pierce through Laslow’s heart. However, one firm conviction remained, almost as if it was etched into his very blood and not in his mind.

 _He had to stop Grima_.

The sheer desperation at the thought startled him, and he only half paid attention as Lucina talked with the rest of the Shepherds about what had happened, and how she had come here with Naga’s aid after losing numerous people, alongside a group of friends of hers, but had gotten separated from them.

(She seemed to get upset at that point, and Laslow shoved down the unwitting guilt that sprung forth; it wasn’t as if it was _his_ fault that his niece had gotten separated from her friends.)

He smiled as he watched Lucina and Olivia hold each other, a twinge of jealousy going through him, and reached out to take Robin’s hand. She smiled back at him, leaning against his shoulder as they watched Lucina, _finally_ , join the Shepherds officially. He’d asked her every time that he had seen her whether she wanted to join, but she had always deflected his proposals, saying that she couldn’t, and he’d always felt empty whenever he saw her go. So seeing her finally join was a huge relief to him.

(The fact that Chrom and Olivia had named baby Lucina after herself was now _hysterical_ to Laslow. They had chosen the middle name ‘Marth’ for their baby daughter out of respect to her, to honor _her_ , not just because it was the Hero-King’s name. She’d fallen silent when they had told her, and had said, in a thick voice, that she was honored.)

But why were most of his thoughts being consumed with the desire to stop Grima?

* * *

With the promise of Plegia’s aid in tow, they traveled back to Ylisse’s castle, intending to use the time they had left to prepare themselves while Plegia prepared the warships and supplies. It had been a public declaration, so they knew that Plegia would not go back on their word.

A surprise came in the form of Lucina gasping and running towards the mage, Laurent. “Oh! Laurent! I’m so glad to see you!”

“Lucina?” Laurent looked stunned as she threw her arms around him, before releasing her. “Seeing you, while an unexpected surprise, was a happy deviation in my calculations! Truly, it is heartwarming to know that I am not the only one. I wandered the continents for three years before meeting up with Prince Laslow.”

“Same,” Lucina said. “I wandered for two years. I helped occasionally, but…” She glanced back at where the rest of her family was. Olivia was happily chatting with Robin, Laslow, Lissa, and Chrom. Laslow laughed appreciatively at something that she said, making her blush, and Chrom wrapped an arm around her, before looking up, and waving at his daughter. “I’m glad that I can be a part of the family now.”

A rare smile graced Laurent’s lips. “Have you seen anyone else?”

She shook her head. “No… no sign of Owain, or the girls, or Brady or Gerome or Yarne.”

“Forgive me for prying, Lucina, but I couldn’t help but note that you failed to mention your brother.” The smile disappeared.

Lucina’s expression darkened, and she quickly glanced back at where the other Shepherds were coming. “Later.”

“Lucina, we need to re-introduce you to Emm—oh, are you acquainted with Laurent?” Laslow asked, surprise.

Lucina smiled brightly. “Yes, this is Laurent. He’s a close friend of mine from my time period, and he was actually the first to go back into the portal.”

“Well met,” Chrom said, nodding. “Laurent has been valuable in aiding us with research, and Miriel truly enjoys having him around as a partner.”

Laurent flushed, adjusting his glasses and hiding further in the brim of his ridiculous hat. Lissa giggled at the gesture. “Aw, he’s just like Miriel! Hey, you two related by any chance?”

A suspicion seemed to form in Laslow’s mind as Miriel raised an eyebrow, studying Laurent more carefully now that she could see that he was just like her and from the future… along with his white hair, the nearly identical hat that he was wearing, and the tome that he was carrying. “Curious.”

“Curious, isn’t it?” Laurent said, shrugging nonchalantly. “Ah, but now that you are back, M- Miriel, I did have a few experiments that I wished to discuss with you…”

“Ooh?” Henry popped up over Miriel’s shoulder, intrigued. “Experiments? I love those! May I join?”

Laurent’s eyes widened like a deer’s, and he cautiously touched his hair before dropping his hand.

“Normally I would reject it, but… your unique experiences may be of use and it would be logical to have a fresh set of eyes,” Miriel concluded. “I’ll allow it as long as Laurent does. Come with us.”

“I do allow it.”

Laslow chuckled as the three of them went off. “Peas in a pod.” Given how quickly Miriel and Henry had taken to each other, along with Laurent’s hair, knowledge of Ylissean and Plegian magic, and reactions to the both of them… he was starting to suspect that… just maybe… like Lucina was Olivia and Chrom’s daughter, that…

“Come on!” Lissa said, hopping up and down. “Let’s go introduce Lucina to Emm! I’m sure she’ll be delighted to see her!”

“You go on ahead,” Laslow said to Chrom, Olivia, Lucina, and Lissa, as the rest of the Shepherds dispersed into the barracks. “I actually wanted to talk to Robin in private.”

Curious, Robin nodded to Chrom and the others. “We’ll join you in a little bit, Chrom.”

Swallowing, Laslow led Robin to a rarely-used sitting room, nodding to the guard that was standing there before stepping inside with her and closing the door. “Ah… Robin… actually, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Something that you didn’t want Chrom and the others to know about?” Robin asked, tilting her head.

“N-No, it’s not that!” Laslow immediately protested. “I’ll tell them eventually… it’s just….”

“It’s just what?”

Ah. The butterflies were back.

“You see, I… erm… th-that is to say…” Laslow stammered over his words, blushing and turning his face away.

“Laslow? Come on, it’s just me! You’ve never had issues talking to me before!” Robin giggled. "Don't you flirt with girls all the time? This shouldn't be hard!" She smiled at him and grasped one of his hands in comfort. He squeezed it.

“…Y-Yes, but usually I’m not trying to propose to you!” he blurted out. Then, at Robin’s gasp, he realized exactly what he had said, and his eyes widened. He hid his face with his other hand. “Oh gods…”

“Is that true, Laslow?” she asked, her voice serious, but with a slight waver in it. “Were you really trying to propose to me?”

Laslow hesitated for the briefest of moments – what if she took it wrong and completely ruined their friendship? It would make things incredibly awkward whenever the two of them were in the same room, and then Chrom and Olivia and Emm and Lissa and the rest of the Shepherds would probably get pulled into the middle.

But he’d forever have to live with the ‘what-if’ scenario. No, he had to tell her.

So he nodded. “I love you so much, Robin. I’ve enjoyed your company ever since we first met in that field, and over time, you’ve become dear and near to my heart. A life without you by my side would be a grim one indeed.”

Robin let out a breath. “I see.”

“I-If you would rather not, th-that’s fine…” Laslow said, gulping. “We can pretend that I never spoke of this, and—”

“Hey!” Robin said, laughing. “I never said I was rejecting your proposal!”

He stared at her for a moment, hope blooming through him. “S-So, in that case… y-you would…?”

“Do I accept your proposal? Yes, Laslow. I do. I love you very much as well, and over the years, you’ve made me feel so welcome in your home, even though I was a stranger that your family took in. I never want to leave your side.”

She hugged him, and he hugged her back tightly, unable to believe his good fortune – that the only woman that he would truly love also loved him back! Once they broke away from the hug, he leaned down and winked.

“In that case, could I possibly get a kiss from the loveliest lady in all of Ylisse?”

“Of course, you dummy. Then we have to tell Chrom and the others!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Emmeryn, Laurent, Passerine:** Probably the biggest changes that I made. I didn't want to leave Laurent wandering the desert for too long, and I didn't want Emmeryn to actually be dead, and I wanted to throw a hint of Robin's mom still being around.


	4. How Can That Be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we're finally past the halfway point for this story. As long as I don't keep adding scenes lol.

After being introduced to her Aunt Emmeryn (her survival was _truly_ a miracle; given that members of the Exalted family had been known to occasionally survive things that would have killed them due to a blood ability known as Miracle, Lucina couldn’t help but wonder whether the different circumstances had caused the skill to trigger), and then hearing the announcement of Laslow and Robin’s marriage, she just took a moment to marvel the fact that, since she had been accepted as family, she was now truly home.

She would never get over it, no matter how many times she looked at it. The castle looked clean, crisp, and gorgeous, like it had in her early childhood, before everything had gone to hell. She simply wanted to just stand and _look_ at everything, check if her favorite hiding spots behind the tapestries were still there, whether that particular brick still opened a secret passage if tapped in a specific way, and so much more.

As she went up the stairs, she’d paused briefly, realizing that she had been about to automatically head to her old room, and had then wondered _where_ she would be sleeping now – in the castle? With the Shepherds? She’d have to ask someone.

“Ah, there you are, Luci!” Chrom’s voice came.

Lucina took a deep breath, and turned around, smiling at her parents. Olivia looked delighted to see her, and had hugged her tightly. She hugged her mother back, marveling at both the familiarity, and at how _young_ and shy she was. Her mother had told her that she’d been as shy as Inigo when she’d been younger, but to actually see how timid she had been was truly a surprise.

“…Hello, Ch- Father, Mother,” she said, with a smile, noting that it was just the two of them. “Where is, er, the younger me?”

“With Laslow,” Chrom said with a chuckle. “Whenever we are home, he is always delighted to spend more time with her. He calls her ‘my little Lucimarth’. He’s always doting on her, carrying her around, playing with her, it’s honestly a miracle that the rest of us get to hold her sometimes.”

Lucina swallowed as her father chuckled. Truly, she’d been _robbed_ by not having him around. “I’m still surprised that you made her middle name Marth,” Lucina admitted.

“How come?” Olivia asked, blinking several times.

“Mine isn’t Marth,” she admitted. “You instead named me Lucina Elice Lowell.”

The two of them looked at each other, and then Chrom shrugged. “After Marth’s sister… That makes sense. _You_ didn’t have a future self appear out of nowhere for us to base your middle name off of, right?”

“Right.” That was true, Lucina had to admit.

“O-Oh, what about other members of our family?” Olivia asked. “Do Lissa and Lon’qu have any children?”

A smile crossed Lucina’s face. “Yes, actually. I have a cousin named Owain. Owain Lior Lowell. He’s two years younger than me.”

“Owain, huh? That’s an interesting name,” Chrom mused. “Rings a bell, but I can’t remember for the life of me where it’s from. Lior was the name of the First Exalt, though.”

Lucina shrugged; honestly, she didn’t know where Lissa and Lon’qu had gotten the name ‘Owain’ from either.

“Actually, speaking of relatives… there is something that Livi and I wanted to ask you,” Chrom admitted. “That’s why we came here.”

“What is it?” she asked, tilting her head.

“Did we have anymore children?” he asked, and she froze. “I’m sorry if it seems like I’m prying, but I overheard you and Laurent talking earlier, and he specifically said ‘your brother’. It sounds like that we had one more child?”

When she’d arrived back in time, she had already made the decision to never tell her father about Inigo’s sacrifice – it would only break his heart – and that perhaps, once her little brother was born, she could play it off as Inigo never being born in her timeline, as long as he never asked.

Unfortunately, it didn’t look as if that would be the case. She didn’t want to tell him, but she also didn’t want to _lie_ to him!

“...Yes,” she said, squeezing her hand into a fist to try to control her emotions. “One younger brother. Inigo Ciel Lowell.”

“Oh!” Olivia perked up this time. “I must have chosen that name; I had an ancestor named Inigo.”

“Ciel sounds Valmese… I think that was the name of Saint-King Alm’s son.” A smile crossed Chrom’s face. “So I had a son after all. How much younger is he? Oh gods, do you think Inigo and Owain will be found soon in this time period? I just want our entire family together.”

Something thick was in Lucina’s throat as she saw how _excited_ her parents looked, and she shook her head. “Father, Mother, I… we’ll probably find Owain, but we’re not going to find Inigo here.”

Some of the excitement dimmed from their expressions, and Chrom was looking worried now. “Why not?”

“…I’m sorry. He _almost_ made it back, but he sacrificed himself to make sure that I got away.”

Neither of the two said anything for so long that Lucina stole a glance at their faces. Chrom’s eyes were wide, and his teeth were gritted. Olivia looked completely shellshocked and almost _broken_. “My baby… died…?”

She didn’t want to confirm what they were thinking, but she silently nodded.

“…Lucina, I’m so sorry,” Chrom whispered as Olivia sniffled, wiping at her eyes.

“No, _I’m_ sorry,” she whispered, turning her face away. “I sh-shouldn’t have let him do that. P-Please… when he’s born a few years from now, make sure that he’s happy. I’ll help you take care of him.”

It was the least she could do, by making sure that the version of him in this timeline grew up safe and happy.

“Lucina…” Chrom murmured. “It’s not your fault.”

“But it was!” she cried. “I sh-should have stayed behind, s-so that maybe he would’ve had a chance…”

“He made his choice,” Chrom told her, pulling her into a hug. “Like you said… when he is finally born, we’ll make sure that he is happy.”

* * *

As the day of Laslow and Robin’s wedding arrived, the others had become absolutely ecstatic.

Lissa had leapt into the air before tackling Robin in a hug. “Yay! You already felt like another sister, Robin, and now you’re actually going to _be_ family!”

The wedding was soon underway, with Laslow beaming at Robin, who was beaming wildly as well. While it was clear that Laslow didn’t like the attention of a public wedding, the wedding of a well-loved Ylissean prince and Ylisse’s famed tactician was one for the history books.

Since Robin had no family there, Chrom had filled in for the role of ‘giving her away’, while various other Shepherds had functioned as the rest of the wedding party. Little Lucina even got the opportunity to become a flower girl, though she was not much help. It was a huge event, and like with Chrom and Lissa’s weddings, it had been made a holiday.

Once the royal wedding was over with, a second, private reception for only family and friends and the Shepherds had been held, for them to truly enjoy themselves and not have to put on appearances for the public.

Laslow and Robin were currently dancing, as were many other couples in the room. Lissa was leading Lon’qu in a fast-paced, joyous dance, and Lucina could swear that she saw even Henry and Miriel dancing together.

“You seem pensive, Lucina.” Lucina glanced up as her father sat down beside her, looking uncomfortable in the dress clothes that he had been forced to wear for the wedding. He set the glass of wine that he had been sipping aside, tilting his head. “Mind sharing?”

“I mean… I look at everything, and can see how history has already changed,” Lucina admitted, glancing over at where Robin and Laslow were dancing. “Quite a bit. Aunt Emmeryn didn’t survive the initial assassination. Robin never married.”

“Really?” Chrom asked, glancing over at the happy couple. Laslow whispered something into Robin’s ear, causing the pink-haired tactician to break out into giggles and kiss him on the cheek. “I can’t imagine a future where Laslow and Robin don’t fall in love with each other; they’ve been eyeing each other for so long that all I could think was that it was _about time_.” He took a sip of his drink. “If Robin didn’t get married… then did Laslow get married in the future, by the way? Or did he remain single?”

Lucina hesitated. “I never met Uncle Laslow in my time, and you never mentioned him. I… I think he died when Aunt Emm was assassinated in my time, the time where I saved them both. There were a lot of stories about Aunt Emmeryn, but no mentions of a second Ylissean prince.”

A shadow passed through Chrom’s eyes. “That… does make sense. Laslow tried to protect Emm but failed, and if you hadn’t saved them, then…” And with him only living a mere two years with them, being the youngest and an illegitimate heir, never truly being out in the public eye, and Chrom and Lissa having lost two siblings in one night, Laslow had faded into obscurity unlike his already-famous sister.

It was very different now – with Emmeryn taking on the leading role of the Exalt, it had freed up both Chrom and Laslow to do more physically for the populace, leading missions with the Shepherds. Laslow was now well-known, popular, and much beloved by the people of Ylisse.

She still wished that she had been able to save _her_ sibling. She would have gladly traded her life for his.

“…Thank you, Lucina,” Chrom said, placing his hand on her shoulder. “In that case, your interference has saved both my older sister and my little brother.”

Lucina looked over at Robin and Laslow again, and smiled, before looking back at her father. “May they live long, happy lives this time.”

The idea that she had saved two lives the night of the assassination… it made her feel a little better about coming back.

“Father… can you tell me a little about Uncle Laslow? Seeing as I never met him originally?” she asked, and giggled. “I’ve been talking to him at every event that I’ve come to. He’s so much like you, Father. He fell for a pink-haired woman.” Privately, she thanked Naga that Laslow and Olivia, as well as Chrom and Robin, hadn’t fallen for each other instead of Olivia for Chrom or Laslow for Robin, or she was sure that she would have never been born (or would she have? She had no idea if the timelines would have compensated, but the thought of Robin being her mother was hysterical).

Inigo could have never been born either, but the thought of her little brother dead was still too much to bear. If Inigo had known that his sacrifice had allowed Lucina to save both his aunt and his uncle in addition to all their parents, would he be happy? It was still a hollow victory in Lucina’s eyes.

Chrom hummed, taking a sip of his drink. “He’s a gentle, shy young man. Quiet, normally prefers to stay out of the public eye and work in the background. Nearly unmatched with a sword… Very sweet and loving, though, when he was a child, he could be found cuddling with Emm, who was practically a mother to him. He and I were very close – I liked having a little brother, even if I was more like a father to him, and he admired me a lot. And Lissa delighted in having a sibling her age. But now that he’s almost an adult, he’s been taking over leading some of the Shepherds. He was the one that led the group that found your friend Laurent, you know?”

Laslow’s personality reminded her a little bit of Inigo’s; she had practically raised her younger brother and had been like his mother since theirs had died, too. She smiled.

“Truly? Then my timeline was truly unfortunate to have lost both him and Aunt Emmeryn,” Lucina said sadly. “You said he is the same age as Aunt Lissa, right? Are he and Aunt Lissa twins?”

Opening his mouth, Chrom was about to explain, when Lissa, who had been dancing with Lon’qu, ran up to the two of them. “Chrom! Lucina! Come on!” Lissa grabbed both of their hands, tugging them out of their seats. “Geeze, Chrom, you need to enjoy our brother and best friend’s wedding!”

Chrom laughed, pulling his hand away from Lissa. “Alright, alright. Where’s Olivia?”

“Dancing with Laslow,” Lissa said, gesturing to the pair. Indeed, after both Laslow and Robin had had the first dance with each other, Olivia had asked Laslow for a dance (which didn’t surprise her; those two and her brother were probably the best dancers in the entire family), while Robin was not too far from Lissa, glancing around for a new partner. “Robiiiin! Come dance with Chrom, he’s partnerless!”

Lucina couldn’t help but laugh as Lissa dragged Chrom and practically shoved him at Robin, the latter of whom who giggled as Chrom began to lead his new sister-in-law in a dance. She was planning to sneak away, when Lissa latched onto her arm.

“C’mon, Lucina! I know Laslow’s pretty busy this time around, but I’m sure we can find _someone_ for you dance with until he dances with you!”

Lucina yelped in surprise. “I- Aunt Lissa, I’m alright…”

“Don’t be like that!” Lissa said. “C’mon, surely you had a crush sometime in the future?”

“I didn’t… really have time for things like that,” Lucina said weakly, but Lissa was persistent.

“Well, no buts, you!” She huffed. “If I can get Laslow out of his shell, then I can get you out of yours! “ Lissa seemed to ponder for a few minutes, before she brightened and grabbed her newest victim. “Aha! Come here, mister!”

“P-Princess Lissa, I must insist—” Laurent protested, nearly tripping over his feet as Lissa darted forward like a snake and grabbed him. He had nearly two feet on her in height, but she dragged him towards Lucina.

“There! Now! You two know each other! _Dance_.” She ordered, before she disappeared into the crowd, probably to find Lon’qu once more.

Lucina glanced over at Laurent, trying not to look embarrassed. Laurent’s face was mostly hidden behind his glasses, though because of the party, he wasn’t wearing his hat.

“I suppose the logical course would be to dance together before Princess Lissa returns and determines another course of action?” Laurent finally asked, awkwardly.

“I—yes, I suppose,” Lucina replied, reaching out to take her friend’s hand, and letting him lead her into a dance. She was an excellent dancer, having inherited her mother’s skills, though Inigo had been much better than her despite his younger age. The practice that she had had dancing with Laslow for all of the other Shepherds’ weddings had helped, too. Laurent wasn’t bad himself, despite his penchant for hiding in the library and not being one for physical activity. “I was just… thinking.”

“About?”

“…” Lucina glanced over at Laslow, who was still dancing with Olivia, the two of them matching their steps perfectly in a manner that even Chrom and Robin couldn’t match. “About how much we’ve already changed just by being here. Aunt Emmeryn’s alive, I have Uncle Laslow, and now he’s married to Robin, who suddenly became my aunt. But I sometimes I can’t help but wonder…”

“Whether it was worth Inigo’s life,” Laurent stated, not asked.

Lucina winced, but she nodded.

“…I am truly sorry he was unable to arrive here, Lucina,” Laurent said, pausing in their steps for a moment to give her shoulder, which one hand was on, a squeeze. “I…” He fumbled with his words. “I understand that Inigo will be born eventually, in this timeline… the best you can do is ensure that he lives through a happier future than ours did.”

Lucina chewed on her lip. Laurent was saying the same thing that her father was. Yes, she had lost her _entire_ family – her brother, her parents, Aunt Lissa, Uncle Lon’qu, and had never known two members of her family – and they didn’t know where and when Owain had ended up. But here, in this timeline, she had her parents, her aunts, her uncles, and with Laurent turning up, hopefully Owain and the others would too. She had changed their fate, and now they could make their own future.

And… perhaps she could make her own future, too, with someone dear to her.

Turning back to Laurent, she smiled warmly at him. “Thank you, Laurent.” She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m glad that you’re still here.”

Laurent blinked rapidly, his cheeks turning red. It was an amusing contrast to the snow white of his hair. “A-Ah, you’re welcome, Lucina.”

She curled her hand into his, and the two of them continued to enjoy the celebrations.

* * *

After the wedding, they had made the preparation to travel to Valm, and after an intense sea battle, along with rescuing Chon’sin’s princess, Say’ri, and learning of the situation that was going on, they traveled through Valm as they worked on a plan to stop Walhart the Conquerer.

One mission that the Shepherds had gone out on while in Valm had involved rescuing a village from bandits. To Lucina’s utter shock and delight, they had found someone attempting to defend the village from the bandits: Owain. The bandits had been quickly routed, and Lucina had excitedly introduced him to his rather bemused parents and the rest of their family.

And Owain, of course, being Owain, had reacted in his normal manner. Chrom, Olivia, Lissa, and Lon’qu had been rather startled, though Laslow had looked at Owain as if he was a puzzle to figure out, and had interpreted what he’d been saying quite accurately.

Unusual, for someone that hadn’t spent years getting to know Owain.

Regardless, Owain had approached Lucina once they were alone, throwing his arms around her before scooping her up and spinning her around briefly. “Cousin! It is good to see that you have survived our perilous journey through the ages! I myself have been here a mere six months.”

“It’s so good to see you, Owain!” Lucina squeezed her cousin to her, beaming at him. Over two years had passed with her seeing nothing but her parents, Laurent, and their generation, and she had been starting to fear that the rest of them had not made it. With Laurent and Owain being thrown at different points in time, though, she was now worried that some of them had been thrown back too far into the past or not far enough.

“Have you encountered any of our companions?” Owain asked, standing up straighter.

“Laurent’s here,” Lucina told him. “The portal dropped him almost three years before Father and Aunt Lissa even met Robin!”

Owain winced. “How unfortunate for our bookish comrade. I do hope that he is well. But what of the others? Perhaps my compatriot, Brady of the Moistened Eyes?”

“He’s going to kill you if he hears you calling him that, you know,” Lucina giggled.

A nervous smile crossed his face. “He does not need to know. And what of our fiery comrade, Severa the Moonborn? Or my dear cousin, Inigo of the Indigo Skies?”

At the mention of Inigo, Lucina felt the tears well up in her eyes again, and she swallowed them, trying not to break in front of him. “Oh gods… Owain… Inigo, he’s…”

“Lucina?” Owain immediately dropped the theatrical façade, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Lucina, what happened to Inigo?”

“He’s dead,” she whispered, and she watched Owain’s face turn white.

“What?” he said, his voice quieter than she had ever heard it.

“J-Just before Inigo and I were able to go into the portal… Grima ambushed us,” she choked out. “He sacrificed himself so that I make it. _Naga_ , I sh-shouldn’t have left him, I saw what Grima did to him… oh gods… Inigo…”

Owain was completely silent, and Lucina sadly noted that there were not many things that could make him go that quiet. “…Inigo,” he finally murmured. “Oh, Inigo. Truly, you were your mother and father’s child. May my beloved cousin rest in peace.”

And almost far too rapidly, he changed subjects, the sadness in his face morphing back into the silly mask that he wore. “But let us speak of other things! What’s this about our mysterious ‘Uncle’ Laslow?”

She managed a weak smile at him, understanding that he was trying to distract the both of them, and pushed the thought of Inigo out of her mind again. “I’m trying to understand things myself. He was there when I first encountered Father, Aunt Lissa, and the others. Father introduced him as his and Aunt Lissa’s brother, and he later married Robin.”

“Curiouser and curiouser. What sort of reasons could there be?”

“I’m not sure,” Lucina said, with a sigh. “He’s skilled and talented though, and he’s able to wield Father’s Falchion. I suspect that he might’ve been long dead in our time, like Aunt Emmeryn. I believed he died during her assassination… Aunt Emmeryn survived, so why couldn’t he have? And making more of a name for himself… I swear he’s as beloved as the rest of the family by Ylisse.”

“How intriguing, a mystery to be unraveled, lest time fall apart at the seams…” Owain ran his fingers through his short brown hair, pursing his lips in confusion.

“I like him, though,” Lucina said, and Owain’s attention turned back to her, his eyes bright and curious. “I’ve spent some time getting to know him, to understand him, and I believe he’s where Inigo’s personality came from. He’s a gentle man, kind, and is truly earnest about wanting what’s best for the halidom, but willing to throw himself in danger to protect someone he loves. When I was… undercover, pretending that I was not related, he extended friendship to me and we became close.”

“Oho,” Owain said, grinning. “Then perhaps in that case, I shall endeavor to _politely_ unravel the mystery that is our Chosen Uncle.”

“Owain… please don’t scare him.”

* * *

The others had been found as well.

Some of the situations that the others had managed to get themselves in had made her shake her head (really, how had Cynthia been misled by that bandit posing as Chrom? _Both_ Gaius and Sumia had scolded her for that), but they had all managed to get together in the end. Each and every time, she and Owain had greeted them enthusiastically, trying to draw their minds away from the elephant in the room.

It only became harder once the last member of her group, Noire, had been rescued from a group of slavers that she had been fending off with a bow she’d found. The majority of them had gotten the idea when Lucina and Owain refused to mention Inigo, along with the complete lack of the other being present or mentioned to the others, but…

Well, when she had finally come out and said it, Brady hadn’t stopped bawling for the rest of the day, much to the confusion of Ricken and Maribelle, and several of the others hadn’t been dry-eyed themselves. Others, like Severa, had been more _angry_ than sad.

The more she repeated it, though, the emptier and yet more relaxed she felt. It was almost as if she was going through the next phase of the grieving process, where she could mourn, but not completely shut down if she so much as thought about Inigo.

She wondered if Owain felt the same.

* * *

Owain… was interesting.

That was all Laslow could think as he got to know his nephew in the process. He had the feeling that, had he been younger, he probably would have gotten into fights with Owain from how silly the other was. They were very different people.

Which was why that he found it odd that whenever they split their band of Shepherds, with Chrom leading one group one way, and with Laslow leading another group another way, Owain always insisted on going with Laslow, even when both Lucina and Lissa went with Chrom. He didn’t mind, though, there was something comforting about Owain’s presence near him.

“Not that I don’t appreciate it, Owain,” Laslow assured the other, interrupting the speech that the other had been giving him. “But if Luci was right, then it’s a little odd of you to be so fascinated with me, isn’t it?”

“Not at all, my esteemed uncle!” Owain said, skidding to a halt and grinning at him. “And yet! There are no tales of your heroic deeds! My mother and uncle only claimed one sibling! You,” and here, Owain posed before pointing at him, “are a complete enigma.”

“Wait, what? Say that again?” Laslow stared at him.

“You are a complete enigma—”

“No, not that,” Laslow said. “That bit about Chrom and Lissa only claiming one sibling?”

“Well, yeah,” Owain said, dropping some of his façade. “Mother and Uncle Chrom always sang Aunt Emmeryn’s praises. Everyone spoke of the three siblings of Ylisse, and— Uncle Laslow? You look pale.”

“…They never met me…?” Laslow whispered, more to himself, looking very disturbed.

“Met you?”

Laslow shook his head, pushing the thoughts of his adolescence out of his mind for the time being. “It’s a very long story. I’m a half-sibling – a bastard,” he explained. “I didn’t always live with Chrom and the others. I suppose… I suppose something changed enough that their paths crossed with mine.”

The fact that future him had likely _died_ at the age of twelve was a very disturbing thought.

“A fated crossing, then!” Owain said, though there was something uncertain his tone. “A Chosen One crossed paths with his Chosen Family! Such as myself and Lucina!”

Laslow chuckled at the other’s comment, but Owain didn’t say anything else after that – which was unusual in itself. Every once in awhile, he would catch Owain staring at him, in a manner similar to Laurent, and he _really_ had to wonder if it was that unusual.

(Granted, this explained why Laurent had stared at him as well; he’d passed it off as a non-royal not knowing much about him, but _Lissa’s son_ claiming that he’d never existed? Lucina, probably, had been far too polite to tell him that he had never existed, but Owain clearly had no such qualms.)

…The fact that he was never going to cross paths with a child of his own was a little disappointing, too.

* * *

A visit to a shrine called the “Ruins of Time” where Risen had been rumored to be invading had resulted in something completely unexpected.

“Chrom, Laslow!” Robin had called, pointing further inside. “There’s a boy over there!”

Indeed, there was a young boy with dark hair, possibly around twelve, clutching at an axe and trying to flee from the Risen, occasionally swiping at one with the axe if they got too close to him.

“Right – Robin, Laslow, you get over there and see if you can save him. Bring him back over here, while the rest of us clear the shrine out.”

“Come on, Robin!” Laslow called, grabbing his rapier so that he could cut his way through towards him. Robin followed, calling out spells to eviscerate the Risen as they managed to make their way over to the child.

He managed to fend off the Risen long enough for Robin and Laslow to reach him, and Robin called out to him. “Hey, over here!”

The kid bolted behind them, and Laslow slammed his rapier into the Risen that he tried to swipe at them, huffing with relief as the thing faded into dust. “Alright, that’s the last one in this area. Let’s catch up to the others.”

Laslow took a moment to study the boy. His hair was dark blue like his and Chrom’s, and was even a similar style, and his eyes were brown. He appeared to be confused as he studied Laslow and Robin, but then a brilliant smile lit up across his face.

“Mom!” he called, sounding relieved. “You’re my mom! You have to be!”

“I’m sorry,” Robin said, though she ruffled the boy’s hair regardless. “Who are you?”

“It’s me! Your son, Morgan! I-I think that’s my name at least.” He looked puzzled. “I don’t really remember anything, though. Not how I got here… or anything… oh! But I remember Dad! Dad, it’s you!” Morgan threw his arms around Laslow, squeezing him tightly.

Laslow hugged the boy back, looking surprised but pleased. “You’re… really ours? Mine and Robin’s?”

“We had a child after all!” Robin looked absolutely delighted.

“We did,” Laslow breathed with relief; he _had_ existed in the future after all! He’d met and had a relationship with Robin somehow… maybe they’d just never found out he was Chrom’s sibling, or he’d actually remembered his real name and had gone by it. “Come, let’s return to the others.”

* * *

Lucina stared at Morgan, who had announced himself as Laslow and Robin’s son. That was _impossible_. Even if he was nearly the spitting image of Inigo (the brown eyes and the lack of the Brand gave it away), Robin had never married and Laslow, as far as she’d known, had _never_ been around.

A quick glance showed that Owain and Laurent looked similarly baffled. Well, at least she wasn’t alone in that endeavor.

Chrom glanced over at her. “…Lucina? That look on your face…”

“I don’t know who he is,” Lucina murmured with a frown. “We’ve found everyone that we could have found in my group.”

“I don’t know him either,” Owain said, sounding disturbed. “I’ve never seen this kid before in my life. He looks a bit like—” He cut himself off. “But no, there was no kid named Morgan in our group. Wherever he came from… it wasn’t with us.”

Robin glanced between them. “He’s clearly my son, though,” she said. “Look – that’s the wedding ring that Las gave me! But it still doesn’t match up. Luci, you said that Laslow and I never married in your future.”

“Right,” Lucina said, looking thoroughly confused.

“But here we have Morgan, who has to be mine and Laslow’s. A child, according to you, who shouldn’t be able to exist. What could that mean?”

“…Did he come back in time from _another_ timeline…?” she muttered. “Does… does that mean that we failed to stop Grima from rising at all?”

Robin looked at her grimly.

“There is no way to know.”

* * *

Morgan was happily walking along beside him and Robin as they headed back to their camp, but all Laslow could do was try to comprehend what his presence could mean.

Well, for one, that answered the question of what he would name a son. Morgan… a good name. He rather liked it, so his future self had made a good choice. Or had it been future Robin that had made that choice? That sounded like something she would come up with, to be honest.

But that, in turn was the problem: he didn’t _have_ a future self. Lucina, Owain, and the other future children didn’t know him, and according to them, Robin had been unmarried in Lucina’s time. Moreover, Lucina and Owain didn’t seem to recognize Morgan at all. In fact, none of the future children did.

Where had Morgan come from? _When_ had Morgan come from?

Was it possible that Morgan was from another timeline completely? One where, should they fail to stop Grima, he’d seen the need to come back?

It was a question that not even Morgan could answer. For whatever reason, Morgan was willing to fight alongside them, and despite his and Robin’s misgivings about the idea at first, they’d finally allowed it after seeing that he _was_ indeed able to hold his own, especially with a tome and a sword.

Still, despite all the mystery around Morgan, Laslow felt happy.

He had a son! Someone that he could teach dancing to, someone that he could bond with and get to know, someone that he could be a _father_ to. He’d never truly had a father that he had known, despite how much he loved his siblings, and he was delighted to have the chance to be one.

Even if the way it came about was unorthodox.

* * *

Walhart had finally been defeated.

“I can’t believe Uncle Laslow as the one to have delivered the final blow to him,” Lucina said later, admiration in her voice. From the way that the war had turned out in her timeline, Chrom had successfully been the one that had dealt the final blow to Walhart, and Say’ri had died while Yen’fay had survived.

But things were different now. Laslow had been the one to deal the final blow to Walhart, Say’ri was alive, and Yen’fay… had died. There was nothing that they could have done about that, though.

“I know, you said it had been me before, right?” Chrom chuckled. “But as an older brother, I am incredibly proud of him. Laslow’s really come a long way from the scrawny, half-dead boy that we found west of Ylisstol.”

At those words, Lucina stopped, confused. “What?”

“Ah, yes, it’s been so long that it never occurred to me to explain,” Chrom said, looking embarrassed. “See, nearly five years ago, Sully and Stahl were investigating a strange light that had been seen, and found him west of Ylisstol, nearly dead, with the most horrific injuries that we’d ever seen on a child. By all rights, he should have been dead, but he was still clinging to life. Emm and several of the healers did what they could, and we were able to save him. But when he woke up, we found out that he had suffered from trauma-based amnesia and couldn’t remember anything. Not even his name, or how he ended up where he was. However, he had the Brand of the Exalt in his right eye, proving that he was related to us.”

Lucina still couldn’t move, trying to comprehend what she was hearing. A strange light in the sky. Twelve years old. The Brand of the Exalt in his right eye. Laslow kept his right eye covered and Lucina had never seen under it, and she had not known that his Brand of the Exalt was there – or that he’d even _had_ one. He never mentioned it, so she had never brought up since she knew how upset Lissa would get at the mention of _her_ lack of a Brand.

And the fact that Laslow reminded her of Inigo, and that they’d immediately bonded with each other…

She had been so _stupid_! How could she have not seen it?! She’d been so sure that her brother was dead, that she’d never even _considered_ the possibility that this mysterious, suddenly-popped-into-existence relative was actually him!

“We finally concluded the only thing that we were able to: that he was a bastard child that my father had sired while he had been away from the palace,” Chrom said with a sigh, unaware of the thoughts running through his daughter’s head. “But he was an innocent child, so we named him Laslow and treated him as if he was he was family in every way that mattered. Five years have gone by, but he’s shown no signs of regaining his memory… between him, Robin, and Morgan, amnesia really seems to run in their family.”

“I-I see…” Lucina managed to get out. Chrom looked at her in concern.

“Luci? What’s the matter, darling?” he asked. “Was it too much for you?”

She shook her head and gave a weak smile. “I-It’s nothing, father. I was thinking that it is such a tragic story that he had, but he was very lucky to find you. He seems very happy.”

“I hope he is.” Chrom’s expression softened. “You know, I loved him from the moment that I laid eyes on him. Emm doted on him as if he was her child, and Lissa loved having a sibling her own age, even if she dragged him around a lot. He likes to stay away from the public eye, but he is very happy and loved with us. He is family.”

“He is family,” Lucina echoed in agreement. “No matter what. I’m glad that he ended up with you, Father.”

“Wow, you sound like you really mean that,” Chrom chuckled. “But me too.”

Inigo. Laslow _had_ to be Inigo. Her brother had survived Grima’s assault on him after all… barely, but he had survived and made it through the portal back in time. And he had had a happy life for the past five years. Really, she couldn’t have asked for more.

He hadn’t recognized her when he had seen her, though, and unless a miracle happened, he probably never would. That was fine. He was alive, whole (mostly), and content. As an older sister, that was all she had wanted for him: to grow up in a world where he was happy and safe.

Unless he approached her seeking the truth, she would leave him happily oblivious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Names:** I really like thinking up names. It's why there's an entire bit dedicated to that. I made up the name Lior for the First Exalt. Inigo's middle name, Ciel, is a homage to ViolinCameos's fic "Father Gothel" (which is still one of my favorite FE fics of all time), where Inigo went by that name.
> 
>  **Walhart:** Yes, I completely glossed over the whole campaign with Walhart. It turned out pretty much the same way outside of some VERY minor changes.
> 
>  **Morgan:** Yes, I know exactly the situation with Morgan, as well as the answers to the questions of: where/when is Morgan from? What about female Morgan? Was there a future Soleil?


	5. Destiny by Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is finally drawing to a close. Not as proud of certain parts of this chapter, but I still enjoy this chapter in general. The next chapter after this one will be completely post-story.

After the war with Walhart, the preparation to keep Grima from resurrecting (or stopping her if she did) was at hand.

In the midst of all of these preparations and gathering the Gemstones, King Validar had sent them a message, claiming that he had one of the Gemstones, Sable, and that he was willing to give it to them.

Something, however, felt off about that statement to Laslow. That wasn’t right. Why would Plegia offer them a part of the Fire Emblem? Weren’t they a theocracy, ruled by the Grimleal? Why would the Grimleal _willingly_ play a role in their own god’s destruction? And how… how was Sable even around? Wasn’t Sable destroyed – wait, why did he think Sable was destroyed? That line of thinking made even _less_ sense.

Regardless, the Shepherds had discussed it with Emmeryn, and had agreed to go to Plegia on her behalf with the Fire Emblem to get it. Lucina had become very quiet when they had seen the great skeletal effigy that Emmeryn had fallen from (gods, if it weren’t for the fact that Emmeryn had survived, he was sure he’d be more traumatized from the mental image of her falling), and had quietly explained its likeness to Grima.

They _could not_ let Grima win.

Upon entering, they had silently noted the hidden soldiers that were around them, and had prepared themselves for anything. Validar and Aversa had greeted them amicably, but after the greetings had been out of the way and they had been discussing the situation, Validar then _insulted_ Exalt Lior, the First Exalt, and Lucina was unable to stop herself.

“You speak ill of when the First Exalt used them against the Fell Dragon?”

“Yes I do… intruder,” Validar spat and Lucina recoiled.

“…Intruder?” she asked slowly. There was no way…

“You are not supposed to be here,” Validar growled, and pointed at Laslow. “And neither are you! You both should be destroyed!”

Lucina froze. Did Validar somehow _know_ that Laslow was actually not Chrom’s sibling? And that the two of them were from the future? But how? Inigo hadn’t even been born in this time period yet, and Validar had no prophesizing powers! A quick glance at Laslow showed that he was baffled and stunned.

“How dare you?!” Chrom hissed, eyes narrowing as he pushed Lucina and Laslow behind him; his threat of wanting to destroy whoever wanted to harm Laslow would come into fruition if Validar laid one finger on him. Frederick looked furious himself, and Robin was glaring at the Plegian king too.

Since Chrom refused to hand the Emblem over, the hidden soldiers attacked them. After fighting their way through them as best as they could, Robin quickly began to usher them away through a hidden passage.

“We have to get out of here!” Chrom yelled to the others. “Cut down anyone that gets in the way!”

Lucina wasn’t surprised; she’d known that Validar was a treacherous snake, though why things were happening _faster_ than they had happened before, she didn’t know. Chrom and Robin had gone to fight Validar when she’d been _ten_. But her younger self was barely a toddler!

“Stay with me, Lucina,” Laslow urged her when the two of them ended up in the thick of several Plegian soldiers without any of the other Shepherds for backup. “Chrom’s in that direction. We’ll make it out of here.”

“R-Right!” She made sure that his back was guarded, not intending to let him get hit with a stray Mire or Nosferatu this time.

As they cut and hacked their way through the soldiers – she could see Laurent and the other mages casting both Ylissean spells and Plegian curses, too – she heard her father’s voice yell, loud and clear.

“Almost there! The exit is just—wait. Do you feel--” He let out a shout as Validar hit him with a spell.

“Chrom!” Laslow yelled.

“Run all you like – you can’t escape fate. Don’t you know that?”

“Father!” Lucina screamed.

“The Fire Emblem,” Validar repeated. “Give it freely, or it will be taken.”

“Just try it!” Chrom hissed.

Validar chuckled. “I won’t need to do anything… Robin!”

“Robin?” Laslow asked, whirling in horror as Robin groaned in pain.

“Mom?!” Morgan called out, horrified. “Mom, what’s wrong?!”

“Seize the Emblem and bring it to me,” Validar ordered.

Lucina could see the panic in Robin’s eyes as she struggled against Validar’s control, but there was nothing that they could do as Robin went to Chrom, snatched it from him, and handed it to Validar, with the man slotting Sable into it.

“Well done, my child,” Validar crooned. “At least, the Fire Emblem belongs to me. And with my Gemstone, it is complete! Now, to set the Table and perform the rite…”

“D-Damn you, Validar!” Chrom hissed as the Plegian King teleported out.

Robin yelped again, nearly collapsing to the ground as Validar’s hold on her broke the instant that he left. Morgan ran over to her, wrapping one of her arms around his shoulders. “Mom! Mom, are you okay?”

“Wh…What have I done?!” Robin whispered, holding her head with one hand, a look of terror and horror on her face.

“Robin!” Laslow called to her.

“Robin, we must go!” Chrom called as well.

“I-I’m so sorry!” Robin yelled back as they all ran. “I don’t… I don’t know what came over me… I’m so sorry!”

“I know you are,” Chrom said gently. “But right now, we need to focus on getting out of here!”

“…Understood.”

“Here,” Laslow said, offering his wife his hand. “Come on, Robin. Morgan and Lucina will cover us.”

At being addressed, Lucina nearly jumped, though she nodded. “R-Right, we’ll cover you!” As they ran from Plegia Castle, all Lucina could think about was what she had witnessed.

It was only once they were far enough away from the Castle that Robin spoke again.

“What I did… It’s… it’s unforgivable.”

“Enough of that, Robin,” Chrom said. “Save your energy for helping us track him down.”

“No, I… You must leave me behind. He could use me again. I can’t be trusted. This cursed blood in me must somehow give… my father… dominion over me…”

“But he never had full control… You can fight it, Robin. And if he expects you to blindly obey, that might be the surprise we need.”

“Chrom, you… you put too much faith in me,” she whispered.

“Robin, my dear, lovely wife… please shut up,” Laslow said, stepping up beside her. Robin looked at him, shocked that he had said something like that, but Laslow continued. “It doesn’t _matter_ what you did then. You would _never_ _willingly_ hurt any of us.”

Lucina was silent. She’d seen the bonds that the Shepherds had, how close they all were to each other, and how they would clearly never betray each other. They were practically a family. She’d known that someone Chrom had been close to had betrayed him and killed him, but no one she had seen had seemed the sort. Chrom’s siblings, including Laslow, were _devoted_ to him, and Robin and Chrom considered each other their best friends. Not to mention, Robin was Chrom’s _daughter-in-law_ (even if he believed she was his sister-in-law) in this timeline.

But… after what she had seen today… she now knew what could have caused someone to betray Chrom. And she needed to put an end to it.

* * *

Lucina knew that if anyone ever found out what she was planning to do now, they would stop her, immediately. That was why she couldn’t tell anyone, and had waited until nightfall, when the vast majority of people would be asleep. Robin, however, she knew that the other always spent several late nights awake, poring over tactics.

It was during that moment that she approached her.

“…Beg your pardon, Robin. Might I have a word?” Lucina asked, her heart pounding.

“…Lucina. What is it?” Robin asked.

“It’s about my father. I have memories of him, you know. From when I was little. Before he… died.” Being four years older than Inigo, she had remembered her father better than he had.

“I see…” Robin murmured.

“He was courageous, and kind, and everyone spoke fondly of him,” she continued, reminiscing as she closed her eyes. That wonderful man that would teach her how to fight, that would play with her… “People say he was brave right up until the very end. I always yearned to know him better. And now that I do… I can see that the world will be robbed of a very great man. …I won’t allow that to happen.”

“I understand,” Robin said quietly. “You love him. …We all do.”

“Robin, I… Please, forgive me…” She swallowed, and forced herself to point Falchion at her. Robin recoiled, looking startled and alarmed.

“Lucina?!”

“Stay where you are!” she ordered, her voice cracking. “I have no choice. I must kill you.”

“What?! What madness is this?!” Robin protested, confused and hurt.

“In my future, you… You are my father’s murderer,” Lucina told her, her voice quiet. She could see it in Robin’s face, how her eyes widened, how she looked disbelieving and horrified.

“No! That’s insane! Why would I kill Chrom?!”

“I was not certain myself, until now… I knew he had been killed by his closest friend. Having witnessed your bond with him and your love for my uncle,” _her brother_ , “I doubted it could be so… But today’s events make it clear. You are at Validar’s mercy. I suspect it’s he who forces you to take my father’s life, and very soon…”

“Lucina, wait—”

“If my father is right, then we can change our fates. If this dark future is to be averted, sacrifices must be made.” But at this point, Lucina knew she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince Robin. She felt sick, she wanted to throw up. “I am sorry, Robin! I know this is murder, I… I know that…”

“Lucina, you don’t have to—”

“Don’t make it harder!” Lucina pleaded. “Don’t resist, and your death will be swift and painless. If you hold any love for our family, then let this be done…”

The expression on Robin’s face was blank, and Lucina trembled as she held Falchion.

“…Very well. I forfeit my life.”

She closed her eyes for a moment. “Godspeed, Aunt Robin,” she whispered, but she never got the chance to strike.

“ _I won’t allow it!”_

And Laslow was between her and Robin, his arms spread out as if becoming a living shield, and Lucina felt her heart twist at the horrified expression that was on his face. It was something that she had seen before, yes, but it had _never_ been directed at her before.

“ _Enough_ , Lucina.” Chrom.

Lucina shook, her grip on Falchion wobbling. “Father, Laslow, you don’t—”

“Lucina, lower your sword,” Chrom ordered.

“But… Father…”

“ _Lower your sword!”_

She lowered Falchion, sheathing it as she tried not to shake.

“Thank you,” Laslow whispered, relaxing his pose.

“I-I can explain…” she whispered meekly.

“There’s no need,” Chrom told her, his voice gentler. “You’re not the only one who can eavesdrop. Laslow and I heard every word. Your heart is in the right place… But I trust Robin. You cannot shake my faith in her.”

“This is not about trust!” Lucina protested. “She’ll be the death of you!”

“Robin and I have held fast through good times and ill… We swore to be two halves of a greater whole,” Chrom explained. “You underestimate the strength of those ties, the bonds we share. I believe in them more than some foretold ‘destiny’.”

“That is easier to say when you haven’t seen it yourself…” She whispered.

“Lucina.” Chrom’s voice was firm. “Aren’t our ties stronger here now than they were in your future? You said so yourself. In this flow of time, we are bound tighter than ever, you and I. Not just as father and daughter… But as friends. We can change things – we already have… and we will again.”

“Hey,” Laslow spoke up, and Lucina turned to him, her eyes glistening as she watched him step towards her – oh _gods_ what must he be thinking? Not only had the two of them had made a pact of friendship at her parents’ wedding, before she’d realized who he was, she had just tried to murder her own brother’s wife! Her own sister-in-law! “It’ll be alright, Luci. I promise.”

Tears escaped from her eyes as he smiled at her, and she turned back to Robin. “…I would ask for your forgiveness, Robin, but I can’t expect it. …I’m so sorry.”

Robin smiled at her. “I do forgive you, Lucina. You needn’t speak of it again.”

“I pray… that is, I trust that you will all prove me wrong.” She gazed at her father, her brother, and her sister-in-law. “And that this future will fall to pieces before your bond ever would.”

* * *

They hadn’t made it in time.

Validar was all set to awaken Grima, and Laslow felt his stomach turn. Lucina, beside him, looked like she was going to be sick as well. Separated by a barrier from Chrom and Robin, the rest of the Shepherds could do nothing but watch helplessly and fight against the Risen that Validar had sent to distract them.

But soon enough, Validar had been stabbed with Chrom’s Falchion with a backup Thoron spell from Robin, and Laslow allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief. His brother and wife were alive, and his wife, though she had been knocked down to the ground, was getting up with Chrom’s assistance.

Validar fired some last ditch magic before he completely collapsed, but both dodged it, and Laslow chuckled—

—only to watch in absolute horror as Robin, without warning, slammed a Thoron into his brother’s chest.

_No no no no no NO NO NO!_

“ _Chrom!”_ Laslow screamed, his voice catching the attention of Lucina, who also screamed. “Robin, what are you doing?!”

“Chrom! Oh gods, Chrom, nooooo!” Lissa and Olivia.

“N-No… Father! No!” Lucina was clinging to him in a deathgrip, and he wasn’t sure he wanted her to let go of him, either.

“With the five Gemstones in hand, my magic knows no bounds!” Validar cackled. “Robin is powerless to resist me. Do you see now, Daughter? Human bonds are leaves in the wind. They offer you nothing.”

“Th-This can’t be happening…” Lucina couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of the scene, causing Laslow to wince as she dug her nails into his arm. “We were supposed to change this! Everything we have done is… worthless.”

They’d… they _failed_.

* * *

“The hell it was!”

Basilio’s survival and arriving to save the day had been the only thing that had kept the rest of them going. With him explaining that the Gemstones on the shield were fake giving them a little bit of hope, along with the fact that Robin had intentionally weakened her strike so that Chrom had survived, the Shepherds had recovered and were able to take Validar down.

Unfortunately, just as they were thinking that Grima couldn’t be resurrected, that was when things went _very_ wrong.

The Shepherds whirled as a shadowy figured warped in, and Laslow’s eyes widened when he saw the piercing red eyes.

“You!” Robin gasped.

 ** _“You may have altered the course of history, but not its destination,”_** the Hierophant said calmly.

“What do you mean?!” Robin demanded.

**_“It is still written that Chrom died here at your hands. Or, perhaps to be more precise… mine.”_ **

“Who are you, really?!” Chrom asked this time.

**_“I told you, I’m Robin. The Robin that murdered you and became the fell dragon, Grima. When this ‘Marth’ of yours decided to come back in time with her little band… I came with her.”_ **

Laslow tried to focus on the rest of the conversation, he really did. But at the mention of Lucina going back in time, of this future version of ‘Robin’ – no, Grima – following her… he stumbled back and grabbed his head, biting his lip as he tried to bear with the pain shooting through him.

_“I love you, Luci. Please, go, or it will have all been for nothing!”_

_“Make sure you change the future to one where everyone can smile, okay?”_

_“L… Like hell am I letting you get her!”_

_“Grima…! I won’t… let you…!”_

_He was the only one that knew that Grima had gone through. He had to get back, so that he could warn everyone – but he was bleeding out, and his body was begging him to shut down, but he had to… he just had to…!_

Of course, he still didn’t truly remember anything. That would have been far too convenient and only happened in stories.

But he knew that he’d been wrong about himself. He’d been so, _so_ wrong. And so had Chrom and the others. However, it didn’t matter now. None of it mattered. Not when Grima had been resurrected, and not when everything was going to be destroyed if they didn’t stop her _now_.

_Naga save us all._

* * *

Their one and only hope was for Chrom to perform the Awakening at Mt. Prism. Robin – their Robin – had thankfully stolen the Fire Emblem back, and now they were enroute to Mt. Prism in a desperate attempt to stop Grima.

Lucina sat behind Laslow on his horse, holding onto his waist as they went. Chrom and Olivia were on another horse, while Robin sat with Morgan on his griffon. She was sure that she couldn’t hide her trembling very well, because Laslow, despite not taking his eyes off of the path ahead of them, spoke to her.

“I’m so sorry, Lucina. Gods, I’m so sorry.”

“I-It’s not your fault, Laslow,” she told him, emotionally drained. “I did all that I could by coming back, but it just wasn’t enough—”

“No,” Laslow cut her off, still not taking his eyes off of the road. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to stop Grima from going through the portal.”

She went still. “You… what?”

“I don’t truly remember,” he confessed. “I don’t remember at _all_. But I know I tried to stop her from chasing you. I know I saw her go through. I know that I was the only one that knew… and understanding that, even though I was dying, I _had_ to get through.”

“S-So… you still don’t remember... I was hoping that when you said that, that maybe…” Lucina trailed off.

“Ah, so you did recognize me.” He smiled ruefully.

“Not at first,” Lucina admitted. “But later Father let slip a few details about you, and then I… I knew. I just never imagined that you would have lost your memory like this.”

He was silent for awhile, before speaking up again.

“Hey.” He slowed his horse down so that he could turn back to her, and smiled warmly at her. “When we’re done and Grima is defeated… why don’t you and I talk?”

Lucina gave him a weak smile, and leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “Really? When I left you behind, I thought I’d lost you forever. I… I’d love to talk.” The chances of them defeating Grima weren’t high, but she would cling to that small hope that she had. Hope never died, after all.

“And I would as well,” he told her. “No matter who we are to each other, Luci, I love you. I love you so much. I felt the bond between us from the moment that I first saw you, and I’m so relieved I have an explanation for it.”

“I… I love you too,” she whispered, resting her head against his back. “And I missed you.”

He hummed, but he didn’t reply.

* * *

After arriving at Mt. Prism, Naga had appeared and had performed the Awakening ceremony on Chrom’s Falchion. With the Exalted Falchion in tow, they had immediately headed for Origin Peak, but not before Naga had told them that her power could only put Grima to sleep, and that the only power that could actually stop Grima for good was her own power.

Robin had gone very quiet after that, and despite how much Laslow had tried to get out of her, she hadn’t said anything.

It was only when they had arrived at Origin Peak that Robin finally told them the truth: that if _she_ was technically Grima, then if she dealt the final blow, then Grima would be destroyed. But there was a horrific catch, in that she would die as well.

“Absolutely not,” Laslow firmly told her alongside the protests of Morgan, Chrom, and the other Shepherds. “You can’t do this, Robin. We’ll find another way.”

“What is one life, when weighed against millions?” she argued.

“Robin… you can’t,” Laslow whispered. “You _can’t_.”

Robin stepped forward and pressed a kiss to his mouth. “…I’m sorry. You’ve been so very kind to me. All of you, and especially you, Laslow. But this is my decision.”

“Robin…”

They didn’t get much time to argue about the matter, however, as they had been assaulted by Aversa and her forces. It hadn’t taken much work to dispose of her, and though they hadn’t _seen_ her take her last breaths, they had seen her and her black Pegasus fall off of the mountain into the lake below and not resurface.

Naga then transported them to Grima’s back, and the _real_ battle began.

* * *

Laslow cut down Risen after Risen and Grimleal after Grimleal that were summoned. He felt sickened when he looked at the bodies of the Risen that were attacking them and felt vague flashes of familiarity at their appearances, or saw the resemblance to the Shepherds. The implications of that were horrifying.

And then Laslow found himself face-to-face with Grima’s Vessel – the future Robin, who was completely corrupted –, with the black smoke shrouding her. Grima smirked at him.

**_“Ah, if it isn’t the little lost Princeling.”_ **

“Hello, Grima,” Laslow asked in a low voice, raising his sword.

Grima threw a Thoron spell at him, which Laslow deflected with his sword, and the two of them struggled, nearly dancing around each other to try to find an opening. **_“You should have done everyone a favor and died then. I had such fun playing with you, too.”_**

Laslow forced back a shudder, remembering the situation he had ended up in after she’d toyed with him. When he’d been found by Sully and Stahl just outside of Ylisstol, which was just likely right after he had gone through the portal. “You might find that I’m a little hard to kill.”

 ** _“Stupid worm. And then when I saw you in Plegia, you pretended as if you didn’t know me—”_** This time, it was _Grima_ that paused, and she stared at him incredulously, before she started laughing. A low chuckling at first, then outright hysterical laughter. **_“You… you_ didn’t _know me. You don’t remember, do you? It looks like I left a mark on you after all – you didn’t even recognize your own family or my younger Vessel, let alone anyone else. But I recognized you the moment I saw that Brand in your eye.”_**

So she _had_ known who he was at least. She’d been furious that he’d tried to stop her from chasing after Lucina, and now she had—

His musings distracted him just long enough for another Thoron spell to catch him in the chest, and he gasped as he was knocked flat onto his back, knocking the wind of out him.

 ** _“Poor little prince.”_** She smirked as she swept her hand and Laslow screamed in pain as a spike pierced through his shoulder. **_“You never should have tried to defy me, not then, and not now.”_**

Grima knelt down next to him and grabbed his chin. Another spike pierced his other shoulder this time and he screamed again. She was just toying with him, Laslow realized, trying to focus through the shooting pain in his body.

**_“Does it hurt, Inigo?”_ **

‘Inigo’? Was that his real name? He didn’t have time to worry about that, even though he wasn’t able to do anything other than whimper in pain, however.

**_“It does? Good… now, just lay there quietly and_ DIE _, worm.”_**

“NO!”

 _Lucina_?! Laslow stared dazedly as the woman flung herself at Grima, distracting her long enough to cause the spell to fly wide as Grima cursed and backed away from Laslow to avoid getting hit. Lucina’s face was twisted in pure fury and hatred as she planted herself between him and Grima.

“Not my brother, you bitch,” she snarled. “I won’t let you lay another finger on him. Not again.”

 ** _“Not running away this time to leave him to his fate, Princess?”_** Grima said, sounding bored by now. **_“Very well, then. I suppose it’s time to end this.”_**

Laslow tried to yell at her, to tell her to _get away_ , but Lucina stood protectively in front of him as Grima started to charge up another spell and—

“Time to end this!”

This time, it was Chrom and Robin, the two of them appearing to attack the Fell Dragon’s Vessel themselves. The spell went wide into the air as Grima was forced to dodge an Arcwind from Robin, and with far too many people focused on her this time, she growled out a curse and slipped away, with Chrom and Robin right behind her.

“Yeah, that’s right!” Laslow glanced up to see his son, Morgan, on a borrowed griffon, chasing after them. “Don’t you dare touch my dad!”

“Morgan—” But his son was gone before he could call after him, and he gave a faint smile. He was worried about his son, of course, but the boy could take care of himself, he was sure.

To Laslow’s surprise, Lucina didn’t follow them, but instead crouched down next to him as some other Shepherds surrounded them to make sure that no one assaulted them. She pulled out a Concoction and helped him swallow it down, and Laslow gave a sigh of relief as he felt his shoulders start to knit themselves back together, the sharp pain dying down to a dull ache. “Thank you,” he told her. “I think you saved my life.”

She swallowed; was she about to cry? “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked, her voice shaking and oddly small.

He stood up with some effort, pulling her to her feet, and ruffled her hair as she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. “I’m fine, Luci. I promise,” he said, before winking. “So put a smile on that face, will you? We’ll defeat Grima and our future will be safe. I promise.”

Lucina smiled, though it was shaky, and she brushed his hair out of his eyes and gazed into them. Laslow wasn’t comfortable with her staring right into his Branded eye, but if she had known him, then she would have already known that it was there, wouldn’t she? “Please be safe. I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” he told her, grabbing his sword again despite the twinges of pain. “Why don’t we stick together, then?”

“Together.”

They continued fighting, cutting down Risen together with expertise. They had, after all, trained together multiple times since Lucina had joined the Shepherds.

But as he cut down a Grimleal, and then turned around to see his next opponents, Laslow found himself staring at a Risen that had bright blue hair… and the Brand on his shoulder. A pink-haired Risen was near him, the both of them silent, appearing to hesitate. Laslow knew immediately why.

_Oh gods… no…_

“We’ll free you,” he whispered as he faced the blue-haired Risen, the pink-haired one already having gone for Lucina. The Risen had an ordinary steel sword, and not Falchion, but his fighting style, while sluggish and slow, was _familiar_. Choosing not to acknowledge who it was, he slammed the sword into the Risen’s face, watching as it began to fade into black dust.

_“In… Ini…go…”_

“It’s alright,” he told the future Chrom, speaking to him as if his memories _weren’t_ completely shattered. “You and Mother can rest now… Father. Luci and I will take care of the rest.”

“…Robin?!”

The cry from the _present_ Chrom made him whirl around, and he quickly was able to take stock of the situation.

Chrom had been near Grima, with Falchion, to seal her away, but a mage had knocked Morgan and his griffon out of the air and the boy had painfully crashed on the ground. He had immediately stopped to go aid his nephew, but that had been all the distraction that Robin had needed.

With Chrom occupied, she had attacked Grima’s Vessel with her sword, and the latter was now kneeling, badly wounded, as Robin stood in front of him, her fist glowing blackish-purple. Horror shot through Laslow, and he leapt to his feet.

**_“What… What are you doing?!”_ **

“For once,” Robin snarled. “I’m glad you and I are the same. Now I can give my life to protect those I care for…”

**_“…You would… not dare!”_ **

“I would and I will,” Robin said, her voice now calmer. “The evils you would visit on this world are unthinkable… in some way, I’m to blame. It’s only right we met our end together!”

Laslow _ran_ , but just like before, just like with Emmeryn’s fall, he was too late. Robin let loose what appeared to be an Expiration which pierced through Grima’s body, causing her to start fading away. Robin, too, started fading away.

“Robin! No!” Chrom fell to the ground beside her, just as Laslow and Morgan ran up to them.

“Mom! Don’t go, I only just got to know you!” Morgan cried.

“Thank you, Chrom. For… everything… Tell the others… my last thoughts were of them… L-Laslow… I love you… so much… I want a world… where you can live in peace… May we… meet again… in a better life…”

“Oh gods!” Laslow gasped, grabbing for his wife, but his hands went right through her, before she disappeared completely. “Robin! No! Ah, gods, _no!”_

Everything was silent. Without Grima to control them, the Risen had stopped dead, and had begun to fade away, as had the Fell Dragon underneath them. He was only vaguely aware that Naga had transported them back off of the dying Fell Dragon and back onto the solid land near Origin Peak.

But as soon as they were on solid ground, Laslow fell to the ground. Morgan collapsed beside him.

“M-Mom…” Morgan whispered. Shaking, Laslow pulled his son into his arms, clutching at him tightly.

“I… Robin… no… _no no no no_ …!”

They had won, but at what cost?


	6. His Father's Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so it comes to an end... or perhaps an end is just a new beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really glad that I was able to get this chapter out on time. I was legitimately worried that I would end up missing the date because I couldn't get it edited!
> 
> As a quick explanation, I live in Texas. As a lot of you may know, Texas was hit with a winter storm and our state was completely unprepared for it. I completely lost electricity for four days in 9F-20F degree weather, and only just got it back yesterday morning. It was a cold, miserable experience, and I don't think I've fully recovered from it.

_One month later…_

“Hi, Laslow.”

Laslow glanced up from where he had been in the gardens, perfecting a dance that he had been working on. Lucina smiled at him. He really never changed, even with his memories gone, did he? “Oh, Lucina! It’s been awhile.”

“Yes, it has.” She stepped closer to him and slipped her hand into his, and squeezed it. “…How are you and Morgan doing?”

He smiled. “…Alright, I suppose. I miss Robin so much… but she’d be upset if she knew that I wasn’t following my own advice and smiling. Morgan is running himself ragged by keeping himself busy, in an effort to cope, but… I think he’s getting better, too.” He took a deep breath. “So what brings you here? I thought you were off seeing the world.”

“I was, but… do you remember what we talked about?” she asked him. “Just before we arrived at Mt. Prism over a month ago?” She’d waited awhile before bringing it up out of respect for him, to ensure that he had proper time to mourn the loss of Robin. He had always been a gentle soul that had masked his anxiety with a persona, and he hadn’t deserved to lose his wife.

“…Ah.” Laslow took a deep breath, and nodded, squeezing her hand. “Why don’t we go somewhere private, then?”

He led her inside the castle, upstairs, and into his quarters. Lucina looked around, and she felt a touch of nostalgia. “This is… These are your quarters? These were your quarters, even then.”

“Was it?” Laslow asked. “I felt comfortable here. I suppose I know why.” He gestured towards the bed, and the two of them sat down next to each other.

“How much do you remember?” she asked him.

“Still nothing more than I did back then,” he admitted. “But though I didn’t mention it then, Grima called me by name.”

“Inigo.”

“Yes.” The two of them were silent, before Laslow continued speaking. “I didn’t tell Chrom, or Lissa, or anyone else. I didn’t want to shatter their worldview, nor did I want to stir up any trouble. So officially I’m still Laslow Anri Lowell, Second Prince of Ylisse. But… I would very much like to know more about Inigo.”

“Inigo was… is my brother,” Lucina said quietly. She didn’t look at his face, but she felt him rest his hand on top of hers. “Four years younger than me. After our parents died, he was always there for me… he was my biggest supporter, the one that understood me the best, the one that always made an effort to make sure that I had a smile on my face. Despite Grima’s best efforts to wipe our bloodline out, we both always pulled through, and we promised each other that we would make it through.”

Laslow was silent, as if waiting for her to go on.

“B-But… when we went back in time, Naga used our blood ties to help stabilize the portal. Yours, mine, and Owain’s. Our friends went through, then Owain went through… and then…”

“And then Grima must have caught up to us,” Laslow surmised when she hesitated.

“Y-Yes. Sh-She almost got me but then… you… you threw yourself in front of me a-and fought back and … a-and… y-you told me to g-go… I l-left you b-behind and… oh gods… I… I… thought you were…”

“Hey,” Laslow said, able to note the bubbling hysteria that was rising in her. He pulled her into his arms and without even thinking, she buried her face in his shoulder. “Luci—”

“Oh gods, I… Inigo, I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have left you! I thought you were _dead_!”

“Oh, Luci…” Laslow squeezed her tightly against him. “It’s alright… I’m here. I won’t leave again.”

As Lucina cried, she inhaled his scent, so warm and familiar, and used it to calm herself down. Her brother was here and alive. Perhaps not in one piece, due to the amnesia, but he knew the truth, and that was enough for her, for now.

“The others…” she finally managed to say, but couldn’t continue.

“I suppose I used to be friends with them, wasn’t I?” Laslow mused. She nodded, and he grimaced. “I don’t want them to know at the moment. It would be odd, and they already mourned me, I am sure. I don’t remember them at all, and I don’t suppose they know anything… ah, but I do remember Laurent and Owain staring at me every once in awhile. I wonder they he suspected anything.”

“Laurent was the smartest out of us all,” Lucina admitted quietly. “He probably did. And you and Owain used to be very close. He probably noted the similarities.”

“Is that so?” Laslow tilted his head thoughtfully, and then smirked at her. “By the way, you chose well, Luci.”

“I chose—what are you talking about?” she asked, frowning.

“Oh come on, Lucina… we’ve noticed the way that you and Laurent have been eyeing each other.”

She scowled, and swatted him. “Oh, stop it! There’s nothing going on!” He raised his eyebrows, and she sighed, admitting defeat. “Alright, perhaps I do like him a little…”

“And the war is over,” Laslow pointed out. “Nothing is stopping you. If Chrom protests, I’ll talk to him.”

“…Like I said, you were always my biggest supporter,” she repeated, a small smile coming to her face.

“And I will continue to be,” he said, winking.

She laughed.

* * *

Nearly a year later, Lucina and Laurent had gotten married, the first of the future children to do so (if one didn’t count Laslow, of course). Chrom had been _shocked_ at first, and had been about to protest, when Laslow had grabbed his brother and had shaken his head.

“Trust me on this, Chrom,” he told him. “Lucina’s happy, and Laurent is a good man. They’ll be happy together, I promise. Plus, even _Olivia_ is approving of this.”

“…If you say so,” Chrom had sighed. Lissa had squealed with joy, her new baby son in her arms, and Emmeryn had offered her congratulations as well.

During the wedding, Chrom had given Lucina away, and the celebrations had started. After dancing with her new husband, Lucina had gone to find her brother, smiling widely when she saw him. “Hey.”

“Ah, if it isn’t the most beautiful woman in the universe,” Laslow grinned at her, and she giggled, swatting him on the shoulder. “What brings you here?”

“Laurent’s off dancing with his mom,” Lucina explained. “I thought that I might go and dance with you, like we’ve been doing since our parents got married.”

“I’d love to, Luci.” With that said, he took her hands, and twirled her around. Lucina clutched at him tightly, enjoying the moment, realizing that, for the first time in a long time, the two of them were dancing with each other while fully aware of who the other was.

“Where’s Morgan?” she asked as they passed by Gregor joyfully swinging Cherche. “I can’t quite spot him.”

“Over there, dancing with Cynthia,” Laslow said, gesturing to where they were. While Morgan’s blue hair was distinct, so was Cynthia’s bright orange hair. “They’ve become pretty good friends.”

“Really? I wonder if there’s something going on between them?”

“Hm, who knows? Morgan could use something happy in his life.”

They spun each other around for some time, Lucina unable to take her eyes off of him. After all this time, it was still hard to believe that he was here, that he was _alright_.

“I know I’m dashingly handsome, Luci, but we’re related,” Laslow told her, his voice gentle and teasing. “And you just got married.”

“Ah… sorry,” Lucina said, blushing at being caught. “Sometimes I still feel like I’m dreaming. That we saved the world, that Grima was stopped, and that… and that you’re not dead.”

“Well… I’ll be honest,” Laslow replied. “As far as I knew, I’d appeared out of thin air. It’s truly nice to know that I did have a past, even if I can’t remember it.” He was quiet for a moment, and he touched her cheek. “I would like to though, one day.”

“I would like you to, as well,” she told him.

Once their dance was over, he entangled her fingers in his own, and smiled at her. Lucina smiled back, her heart light and so happy. Laslow leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“I promise that I’ll never give up,” Laslow told her. “That I’ll find a way to remember.”

“Oh, Inigo…” she murmured, her voice quiet so that no one else heard. “Even if you never remember… as long as you’re safe and happy, I’ll be happy.”

* * *

Nearly a year after the wedding, and over two years after the defeat of Grima, the most surprising thing had happened.

Laslow had been teaching Morgan a dance in the courtyard. His son was in good spirits and a great listener, and Laslow felt proud to be teaching him. The boy was incredibly good, and Laslow wasn’t sure what he would have done if he’d had a child that had two left feet.

Of course, he mused, with his wife dead, the only child that he would ever have was the future Morgan. He wouldn’t ever get to meet even the younger Morgan… or have the daughter named Soleil that he’d always dreamed (literally – every time he did, he would see a girl that looked a lot like him, but had Robin’s pink hair) that he would have.

(None of them had figured out where Morgan had come from, since he was clearly not from Lucina’s timeline. All they could assume was that he was from a third timeline that they had somehow prevented without even knowing it. Possibly Morgan’s very presence in this one had done it?)

A great shout from the front of the castle made him falter in his steps, Morgan also stopping.

“Dad, what’s going on?” Morgan asked, his eyes wide.

Laslow ruffled his son’s hair, and shook his head. “I don’t know. Let’s go check it out, shall we?”

The two of them ran over towards where they had heard it, Laslow’s heart pounding. It didn’t seem like cries of fear, so whatever had happened was surprising, but in a good way… what could it have been? As he ran over, he saw a head of pink hair, and for a moment, though it was Olivia, but…

No. The pink-haired woman was wearing a tactician’s robe, and she was being embraced by Lissa and Olivia, and Laslow felt all his breath leave him in a rush.

It was impossible, and yet…

_“Mom!”_

Morgan was the one that broke the silence first, and he ran over to Robin, practically throwing himself into her arms.

Withhe confirmation that he _wasn’t_ hallucinating, since it was obvious that everyone else could see her as well, Laslow ran towards them, stopping just in front of Robin, his eyes wide, as he reached out to touch her face as if she was a dream.

“H…How…?”

“We found her just today,” Chrom said softly. “While patrolling in the same field that we first found her in. She was there, she was _alive_ , and she remembered us all.”

“Oh… Oh _Robin_ …!” Crying, Laslow wrapped his arms around both his wife and his son, holding them both tightly.

“Laslow… Morgan… oh gods, I’m so happy to see you!”

“How…?”

“Naga told me that if my bonds were strong enough, there was a chance that I would survive,” Robin said, sniffling. “When I died, all I could think about was all of you… I was in a dark void for some time, and then… and then I found myself here.”

“Please… please don’t leave us again,” he told her, relief and pain in his voice as he sobbed. “Gods, I missed you, Robin.”

“I’m sorry, Laslow,” Robin said, squeezing him back. “But I’m back now… and I have no plans on leaving you again.”

* * *

It wasn’t until much, _much_ later that Laslow finally found a lead on his personal quest.

“The Wellspring of Truth?” Chrom repeated, sounding puzzled.

“I’ve vaguely heard of it,” Frederick said. “It’s a spring in some ruins, over in Valm, rumored to have been created by the First Dragons. Its waters are said to reflect your true self. Even drinking from the spring typically enhances your memory. I never suggested it due to the dangers surrounding the legend.”

“True, but the legends say that the dangers are a test,” Laslow pointed out. “If we can just _pass_ that test, we can gain access to the Wellspring.”

“…Ah! That’s why you want to go?” Chrom turned to Laslow, comprehension dawning on his face. Laslow nodded.

“Yes, that’s right,” he said. “And not just myself, you know that Robin and Morgan also suffer from memory problems, correct? Now that everything is over and it seems like things will be quiet for awhile, we were thinking of going and finding out the truth about ourselves, together.”

For some reason, this made Chrom’s heart race. “Laslow… are you sure about this? Like Frederick said, the test is probably dangerous. And what if what you find out isn’t what you hoped to see?”

Laslow grimaced, but he shook his head. “No, I can’t keep running – you, Emm, and Lissa taught me that. Even Robin, Olivia, and Lucina taught me that. Even if the truth is something that I don’t like, I have to know, you know? It’s better than not knowing.”

There was nothing to it. “I’d ask if you wanted me to come with you, but I think the three of you wanted to go together, right?” Chrom asked. “I’d just be intruding.”

“Sorry, Chrom,” Laslow said, smiling sheepishly. “But I promise, that I’ll not only return home, but that I’ll tell you what I learn. It’s the least I could do for my family, right?”

Chrom reached out and ruffled his brother’s hair, chuckling. “No problem, Las.”

After preparations had been made, Laslow set off along with Robin and Morgan towards the Wellspring of Truth. Before going, they’d said goodbye to the rest of the family, including Chrom, Olivia, and the older Lucina.

“Make sure you come home before our second child is born,” Olivia told him, giving his shoulder a squeeze. By now, she was about five months pregnant with hers and Chrom’s second child, and while Chrom and Olivia said they believed it would be a boy, Laslow _knew_ that it would be a boy. “I want his uncle and my dear friend to be around.”

“I will,” Laslow promised, smiling at Olivia, before going to Lucina to give her a hug.

When Laslow released the older Lucina, he understood why she gave him a sad gaze. “Hey, what’s wrong? Smile for me! I’ll be home soon,” He told her.

Lucina managed a watery laugh, but she smiled at him. “Sorry. I pray that whatever you find, you’ll be happy with it.”

He winked at her. “Make sure that Chrom doesn’t do anything dumb without me around, will you?”

“ _Oy_.” Chrom huffed, giving Laslow a light shove.

Laslow laughed. “I jest! We will see you all later, then.”

* * *

Laslow, Robin, and Morgan had been gone for four months, and Chrom was beginning to worry. He knew that it was about a month’s journey just to get to Valm on foot and boat, and then even longer to probably get to the Wellspring, and then at least another month to come back. Two and a half months sounded about right… but it had been four months, so if they were any later, they would miss the birth of Chrom’s new child.

“Prince Chrom!” a footsoldier rushed up to him, skidding to a halt, panting.

“Yes, what is it?” he asked, instantly alert.

“It’s Prince Laslow! He and Lady Robin and Prince Morgan have just returned!”

Relief went through Chrom – nothing horrible had happened to his brother, his best friend, and their son. “Thank you so much. I will go greet him now.” Without another word, Chrom ran off towards the entrance of the castle, eager and excited to see his younger brother again. He would tell Olivia and the others that they had returned later; for now, he just wanted to make sure that he was fine.

However, when Chrom entered the foyer of the castle and saw Laslow, the young man didn’t notice him walk in, appearing to be very lost in thought.

“Laslow?” he called, and the other nearly jumped, eye widening as he saw Chrom. To the older Prince’s concern, his brother looked very pensive and apprehensive. What had the Wellspring of Truth shown him?

“I… I…” Laslow shivered for a moment, before running forward and throwing his arms around Chrom. Surprised, Chrom wrapped his arms around Laslow and rubbed his back like he used to when they were much younger.

“What’s the matter?” he asked softly. “What you saw in the Wellspring couldn’t have been _that_ bad, Las.” What sort of things did Laslow see? Did he see his mother’s death? Did he remember how he’d been brutalized?

“Well, let me tell you what happened there, first,” Laslow said with a shaky laugh. “So Morgan, Robin, and I went to the Wellspring of Truth, and when we got there, we found a surprise visitor: Aversa.”

“Aversa?” Chrom echoed in shock. “She’s alive?”

“Alive, and well,” Laslow said, and when he saw the look on Chrom’s face, he shook his head. “It’s not what you think. She came to the Wellspring for the same reason that Morgan, Robin, and I did; to discover the truth about herself, because Validar had corrupted her memories. She was very shaken after she looked into the Wellspring. She told me and Robin what she saw, and we can safely say that she is no longer holding any of Validar’s ideals.”

“Where is she now, then?” Chrom asked.

“We brought her back to Ylisse,” Laslow said sheepishly. “It didn’t feel right to hurt her after what she had discovered, plus Robin is the closest thing to family she has. Don’t worry, Robin and Morgan looking after her right now. Anyways, since we were all there for the same reason, the four of us teamed up to take care of the Wellspring’s test – essentially, it copied our forms and sent them to us.”

Laslow paused, looking intrigued. “We weren’t sure what to make of them at the time, but there was something… off about the copies. Like they looked like us, but they were… invisible? Shimmering. They actually reminded me of those invisible ‘warthogs’ all those years ago.”

Chrom raised an eyebrow. In the wake of all that had happened, he’d almost forgotten completely about that strange incident with the ‘invisible warthogs’ and those people claiming to be from the mythical kingdoms of ‘Hoshido’ and ‘Nohr’.

“Anyways, the four of us beat them down, and we then approached the Wellspring, where we heard a voice. I think it was the First Dragon that created it? The voice told us that we had passed the test and that we were welcome to look into the Wellspring to see the truth of ourselves as well as drink some of the water. So Aversa, Morgan, and Robin went, introduced themselves, and looked and we discussed what they saw after each of them did before the next person went.”

“Then you approached, I’m assuming,” Chrom said with a nod.

“R-Right. I then approached and introduced myself, and the voice paused before allowing me to approach. I went and looked, and…”

“You saw the truth of yourself, I’m assuming?” Chrom asked, still wondering what it was that had shaken Laslow up so.

Laslow looked down at his feet, and… were those tears in his eyes? “I won’t tell you in full detail what Aversa, Robin, and Morgan saw; that’s up to them if they want to tell everyone else about it.” He paused. “It _is_ part of the reason that we were a little late, though. We ran into Passerine again, and the two of them caught up. She’s going to come to Ylisse eventually for a visit.”

Well, good. He’d been wondering whether Robin had any true family outside of Validar, who didn’t even _count_. But Robin’s mother, Passerine, had seemed like the decent sort, what with her nursing Emmeryn back to health and attempting to keep her daughter away from the Grimleal. He would be happy to host her for awhile.

“What about Morgan and Aversa?” he asked.

“Aversa was… she was kidnapped as a child by Validar,” Laslow said with a grimace. “And then brainwashed. It was quite horrifying, to be honest, and I won’t say anything more on the matter. As for Morgan, he’s apparently from a completely different timeline like we suspected, so we talked about what he remembered, and…” Laslow trailed off, and stared at Chrom. “…Chrom. He has a sister. A _twin_ sister. I got my Soleil, but… but we have no idea where she ended up. He was still in his time the last time he saw her.”

Chrom bit his lip. The idea that a future child was _still_ out there with them having no idea of where she could be was horrifying. Who knew where or when she had ended up? “I hope we find her soon.” What else could he say?

Laslow didn’t seem to be done speaking, however. “And… Let’s just say that it was a _very good thing_ that Robin destroyed Grima instead of you sealing her.”

A chill went down Chrom’s spine at those words. “What do you mean?”

“The seal wouldn’t have been enough, and in just a few years she would have broken free and—” He cut himself off and shook his head. “I’ve said too much. Anyways, we wanted to talk about me, not Morgan. I saw the truth of myself. I saw _everything_ , and not only that, once I took a few sips of it, my memories came back, just like we’d hoped _._ I’ve been wondering for a long time whether I can say it… and shatter everything that you and I have believed for years.”

Chrom tilted his chin up and wiped the tear on his eye away. “It doesn’t matter what you saw or who you are. You’re still my little brother.”

A hysterical laugh came from Laslow’s mouth. “That’s just _it_! I’m _not_ your little brother!”

Something that was simultaneously hot and icy shot through Chrom’s stomach. “What? That’s impossible – you _have_ the Brand! You look just like me and father! None of the branch families carry it! You _have_ to be closely related to me.”

“Truth be told, using clues, I figured out I was not your brother a long time ago – before we defeated Grima. I was debating whether to even tell you,” Laslow said, closing his eyes, his shoulders shaking. “Because I was so happy. I can safely say that the happiest years of my entire life were the ones that I spent here, with you, and a- Emmeryn and Lissa, as your little brother.” He averted his gaze. “But you’re correct. I might not be your little brother, but I _am_ closely related to you. And now that I know the exact truth of it and the details, I can tell you.”

“Laslow…” Chrom said, his voice confused.

“Please, let me introduce myself to you,” Laslow said, his voice quieter and firmer than it had ever been, taking one step back, and dipping into the formal bow that he had been taught when he had been younger. “I am Prince Inigo Ciel Lowell of Ylisse, younger brother of Lucina, and son of Exalt Chrom and Queen Olivia… it’s a pleasure to finally meet you as myself, _Father_.”

_Brother of Lucina. Son of Chrom and Olivia._

Chrom’s eyes widened. He was—Laslow was— _Inigo_ was…!

Laslow – Inigo – looked like he wanted to bolt, so Chrom quickly grabbed his hands and pulled him towards him. “Oh… Oh _Inigo_.” He brushed his fingers against Inigo’s cheek, his expression warm and sad as he remembered the condition that they’d found this boy in… and when Lucina had told him that he’d died…

“I just wanted to save Luci,” Inigo said, his voice quiet. “Everyone else had gone through the portal, and Grima almost got Luci, so I jumped in between her and Grima’s attack, and then everything _hurt_. I tried to stop Grima, but she attacked me again and… and… I just barely made it through the portal before it closed. And then… well… I think that was when Sully and Stahl found me.”

Chrom threw his arms around him, squeezing him against his chest, holding him tightly as he tried not to think about the horrific experience that had nearly killed _his child_ before he had ever met him. He rested his chin on top of Inigo’s head, not saying anything until he felt the younger man begin to settle down in his arms.

“You’re a brave young man, Inigo,” Chrom said softly, running his hand through Inigo’s silky blue hair. “So, so brave, and kind, and loving.”

“…” Inigo kept himself pressed against Chrom, as if afraid that the moment that he let go, Chrom would push him away.

“I’m so proud of you,” Chrom told his son. “No father could ask for a better son. I am such a lucky man to have had the opportunity to have _you_ as my child. …And I am glad that they found you that day and brought you home.”

Inigo pulled back slightly and smiled shyly up at him. “…Father. That means so much coming from you. Thank you.”

His entire relationship with this boy had changed, but… Chrom didn’t mind. Inigo was his son – and the child that Olivia was pregnant with right now, that he and Olivia had thought had _died_ – but that didn’t matter. This young man was incredibly talented and wonderful, and Chrom was just overwhelmed with affection for him.

“I suppose the first thing to do,” Chrom said, wrapping an arm around Inigo’s shoulders, “is to go find Lucina. Gods above, she has likely been grieving your death since she first came back in time.”

“Er, well… she already knows.” Inigo winced.

“…She does?”

“When I figured out that I wasn’t actually your brother, and when I figured out that I had known Luci already, we… talked to each other about it,” he confessed. “We agreed that… unless I truly remembered, we wouldn’t tell anyone.” He sighed. “We were very close, she practically raised me when we were younger. She’ll be so happy to know that I finally remember.”

“And after that…” Chrom hesitated, and glanced over at him. “We need to figure out what to do about the Halidom and your status. The Halidom has had all these years to get used to the idea of Prince Laslow, youngest sibling of Exalt Emmeryn. Are we going to tell them otherwise?”

“I… that would be up to you, I suppose?” Inigo asked. “Besides, we also have to figure out what to do with Luci and Owain, too, since they have visible Brands.”

Chrom cleared his throat. “If you want to officially stay our ‘brother’, I am fine with that,” he told him, squeezing his shoulder. “As for Lucina and Owain, if they want to act as if they are relations as well, then I see no issues with that. We don’t even have to lie that you and Lucina are full-siblings.”

“If… if it’s really alright, I think I would prefer that,” Inigo said. He pushed the lock of hair covering his eye back behind his ear, finally revealing the Brand after all of these years. “And… and I think that I would still like to stay as Laslow, younger brother of Chrom, because baby Inigo will exist, and it would get confusing otherwise.” He then tilted his head. “…Where did Emm get the name Laslow anyways? I’ve always wondered. I think I asked once, but you didn’t know.”

“I can answer that now that I know,” he chuckled. “She named you after a famous warrior supposedly from the mythical kingdom of Nohr, who was known to smile and cheer people up to hide his own pain, and one of the heroes of the Great War of Fates. His name has been passed down through history,” Chrom explained, “and when she saw you… it just seemed to _fit_.”

Inigo – Laslow – blinked. “Interesting. The Great War of Fates… I think I remember reading something about it. The one against the First Dragon, Anankos?”

“Yes, there are rumors that he was a descendant of Anankos too, but there are no true records surviving.” He shrugged.

Laslow frowned at that, looking a little alarmed and intrigued, but when Chrom raised an eyebrow, he just waved it off, brushing his hair back over his eye. “Anyways, we really should go find Luci, now. I need to tell her about me.”

Chrom wanted to protest – he had the strangest feeling that Laslow had left some details out about what exactly had happened at the Wellspring.

But as he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out what they could have been, so he shrugged and followed.

* * *

Lucina was not there when they went to find her. Rather, they found Owain and Lissa instead, with Owain chattering away by telling one of his stories to her.

“And then, the hero thrusts his blade into the wicked fell demon, purging him of evil and—” He cut himself of as he noticed the two blue-haired men enter. “Ah! Uncle Chrom! And Uncle Laslow! I see that you have returned to us at last and not fallen victim to devious misdeeds! Tell us, what truths did you seek that the Wellspring whispered to you? Has your mysterious backstory finally been elucidated?!”

Laslow chewed on his lip, fiddling with the lock of his hair he normally kept over his right eye. “Ah. About that.” He hesitated for a moment. “Maybe I should just do this and let you see for yourself.” And he gazed into Owain’s eyes.

At first, Owain seemed puzzled as to what he was doing. And then his eyes stared _hard_ into both of Laslow’s, speechless for one of the few times in his life.

Laslow’s cheeks turned red. “Owain… P-Please s-stop staring…”

“Inigo?” Owain sounded broken.

“…Hello, cousin.”

Chrom had to quickly step aside as Owain practically flew at Laslow, tackling the other and the two of them landing on the ground, Laslow grunting as they did so. “Inigo of the Indigo Skies! I thought there was something off about my uncle, constantly shrouded in mystery! And I knew that your story could not have ended there! The fates have been kind and have sent my beloved cousin on an epic quest! Your story shall be known for all time! Of he who defied the Fell Dragon and—”

“Owain,” Laslow wheezed as he was nearly crushed. “I can’t _breathe_.”

Owain let out a loud sniffle, before wiping at his eyes and pretending that he wasn’t crying as he loosened his grip on the other. “…Good to see you, buddy,” he murmured.

“You too,” Laslow murmured back as the two of them stood up. Almost nervously, he turned to Lissa, who was simply staring at the two of them. “Ah… L-Lissa… er, Aunt Lissa—”

“Geeze!” Lissa finally huffed, though she didn’t look angry. “It’s about time your memories came back, mister!”

“You’re not annoyed that I’m not actually your brother?” Laslow asked, fidgeting. “You were the one that was quite vehement about me staying here.”

“Of course I’m not annoyed!” Lissa tugged him into a hug. “I still love you, you know! You’re family!”

“Ah… thanks,” Laslow said, relaxing into her grip.

“Given the… circumstances,” Chrom said, speaking up for the first time, “we’re still going to go with the scenario of him being our half-brother Laslow. Owain, we could do the same for you, and for Lucina, if you’re willing.”

“As in… pretending to be your sibling?” Owain asked slowly, glancing between them. “Partaking in a new name and choosing a secret identity?”

“That is, if you don’t mind,” Chrom quickly said. “We just thought that it would be easier to use that as the explanation as to why the three of you are around, with Brands no less, and—”

“Yes!” Owain said, pumping his fist in the air before posing. “I shall be considered the half-brother of the divine Prince Chrom and the fiery Princess Lissa, no longer known as Owain Dark, but now as Odin Dark, after the mage hero of Nohr!”

“Ah!” Lissa gasped, pointing at Owain. “That was the name! The name that I was thinking of naming you! I’d completely forgotten what it was, but that was it! Odin! That really cool mage guy with those people that claimed to be from Hoshido and Nohr!”

Owain looked even _more_ excited now. “Truly?! You have been acquainted with the mage hero of Nohr? I am not worthy, but I shall wear the name Odin Dark with pride!”

Chrom blinked in surprise, as Laslow sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “…I really had _forgotten_ how ridiculous you could be.”

“Do not mock me!” Owain said, pointing at Laslow. “I am just overwhelmed with emotion that the fell power had not removed you completely from this world!”

“Oh my _god_ , Owain, you _never_ change.”

Before Owain could tackle Laslow again, a soft noise from the door led everyone to look over, only to find Lucina standing there. Her eyes were wide and filled with tears, and one hand was over her mouth. It was clear that she had heard everything. “…Inigo?”

“Hello, sister,” Laslow said, holding his arms out.

Lucina ran over and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. “I- oh gods… You finally remember… I never thought that you would but when you said you were going to the Wellspring…”

“I remember, Luci,” he said, squeezing her back. “I’m sorry, I’m so _sorry_ that I had to leave you behind.”

“You knew!” Owain stared at his cousin. “Do my ears deceive me? This entire time, you were aware of his mysterious backstory?”

Lucina shamefully looked away. “No, not the entire time, Owain. I only figured it out once Father told me how he found him… and the location of his Brand.”

“Why did you never mention anything, then?” Lissa asked this time. “I mean… this is kinda _big_.”

“How _could_ I tell you all?” Lucina countered. “He didn’t _remember_ anything! It would just hurt him and the rest of us even more. B-But with you… he was _happy_ … I didn’t want to make things awkward.”

“Luci,” Laslow interrupted her. He reached down and clasped her hands in his own. “It’s alright. You just wanted what was best for me, like you always did. And besides, I asked you not to tell anyone as well.” He squeezed her hands. “So please, stop crying… and smile for me, will you?”

Nodding, Lucina managed a smile, before pulling him into another hug. Owain soon joined them, and then Chrom and Lissa, and the five of them just held each other until Emmeryn walked into the room.

Emmeryn reacted just as the others had, and yet completely differently. Instead of speaking, she simply pulled Laslow close and hugged him against her. Laslow closed his eyes, melting against his sis—no, aunt. The aunt that he had never originally met in his timeline, but had had the opportunity to know for several years, and who had loved him dearly.

“Perhaps we should wait to tell Olivia until after she has the baby,” Chrom suggested. “I imagine that it would be quite a shock… for her brother-in-law to turn out to be her future son.”

“No wonder you were so sure that Olivia’s baby would be a boy!” Lissa giggled. “Because it was you all along!”

Laslow blushed a little. “I suppose that makes sense, yes.” He paused, as if realizing something, and then his eyes widened. “Actually, about the baby—”

“Your Exaltedness and highnesses!” a soldier ran into the room, saluting. “It’s Lady Olivia – she is having her child!”

Chrom’s eyes widened as he stepped forward. “She is? Oh gods, we should get over there! Is anyone with her?”

“Yes, Father Libra and the midwife are with her,” the soldier assured him.

“Thank you,” Chrom told him, and then nodded to the rest of his family.

“ _As_ I was about to say, Today’s my actual birthday, by the way,” Laslow grinned, and Chrom chuckled.

“Shall we go properly meet you, then?”

“Of course!” As they ran towards Chrom and Olivia’s quarters, a strange expression came across Laslow’s face, and he turned towards Lucina with a smirk.

“What are you staring at?” Lucina huffed.

“Ferox Arena, two years ago. That means that I _finally_ beat you in a fight!”

“You- shut up!” She lightly swatted him on the shoulder.

“But it’s true!” He sang, looking far too happy about it. “Admit it! Your baby brother beat you in a fight, fair and square, with Falchion, finally!”

“Do my ears deceive me? You _beat Luci_?” Owain asked, his eyes wide. “And the legendary Falchion has deemed you a worthy successor?!”

“If my brother would _shut up_ …” Lucina turned to Owain. “He did. With Falchion, no less.” She turned back to Inigo. “I felt a very weird sense of pride that day at being beaten. I think unconsciously I knew that it was you, even back then.”

Laslow beamed at her. “I did, too. I felt… unusually giddy about it. So that means I’m better and stronger than you now, eh?”

“Shut. Up.” She shoved his shoulder.

“Barely reunited for two minutes, and they’re already poking fun at each other,” Chrom said with a shake of his head as they continued.

Lissa giggled. “What can you do? They’re siblings!”

* * *

Chrom looked like he was terrified that he would drop the baby if he so much as moved. Olivia giggled tiredly. “You reacted exactly the same when Lucina was born.”

Outside of little Lucina and little Owain, who were with nursemaids, and Laurent, Lon’qu, Robin, and Morgan, who were with other people, the entire Exalted family had been allowed into the room once the healers had cleared Olivia for an audience.

“He’s so _cute_!” Lissa gushed, lightly poking Laslow in the ribs before cooing over the baby.

“Has he opened his eyes?” Chrom asked, gently tickling the baby boy’s nose.

“Not yet,” Olivia replied, shaking her head from where she lay. “And Laslow, I am so glad that you are back! I was really hoping that you would come back home in time to be here when the baby was born.”

Laslow smiled at her, a little nervously, and Lucina gave his shoulder a squeeze. “How could I not? He was born right after I came home – he must have been waiting for me!”

“Was your search successful?” she asked him. “Did the Wellspring show you what you wanted? I noticed that you have your hair out of your eyes for once.”

“Well…” He paused for a moment, and then his expression warmed as he gazed at her. “Yes it did. I remember everything now, including how I ended up in the situation that Chrom found me in. I feel a little less unsure about myself, too.” He shook his head, smiling wider. “I’m just glad to be here, though! And especially to see you!”

“I can imagine,” Olivia giggled.

“Ah, there!” Chrom smiled as the baby boy opened his eyes and stared up at him while Lissa poked Laslow in the ribs again. He leaned down a little closer, and then grinned as he focused on the baby’s right eye. “There he goes, opening them. Want to see, my love?”

Olivia held her arms out, and Chrom moved to settle the baby into her arms. “O-Oh yes, I never did mention what I wanted to name him… but I was thinking— oh!” Her eyes widened as she stared at the baby.

“Inigo,” Laslow finished quietly. “You wanted to name him Inigo. Like me.”

Olivia was quiet as she stared down at the infant in her arms. He peered up at her with his bright blue eyes, the Brand of the Exalt already visible in his right eye. She then turned her gaze to Laslow, steadily searching his face and settling on the Brand in _his_ right eye. He swallowed, and gave her a nervous smile as he reached behind him to grab Lucina’s hand.

“You’re…” Olivia whispered. “You’re… the future Inigo? _My_ Inigo?”

“Hello, mother,” he said softly. “It’s nice to truly meet you.”

Olivia burst into tears, and before anyone could do anything to try to comfort her, she had passed her baby off to Emmeryn and had pulled Laslow down into her arms. “Oh, my darling baby…”

“M-Mom…” Laslow sniffled, burying his face in her neck as she kissed his head multiple times. “I missed you so much!”

“Are you happy now?” she asked, when they were able to quieten enough to pull a few inches apart from each other. “I knew there was something special between us the moment that we met, but…” She glanced over at Chrom and Lucina. “But not in the romantic sense that I felt for Chrom. I felt for you what I felt for Lucina. A-And when we thought you were dead, I…”

That was why they had felt so close to each other. That was why Olivia and Laslow had always been each other’s dance partner choice outside of their spouses. That was why they had been comfortable with each other in an _instant_.

“I’m happy, Mother,” Laslow assured her. “I’ve got you, I’ve got… well, everyone else.” He turned back to the rest of their family behind them. “I-I know it might be a little odd, since you have the baby and all… b-but we did agree that I would stick with the backstory that I had been given to explain my presence in the Capital and such…”

“O-Of course that’s fine; I _love_ you, my darling. I don’t want you to leave.” She smiled, and stroked his hair, and then turned towards Lucina. “You too, dear. Don’t leave.”

“Ah… Mother…” Lucina turned her head away for a moment. “…Very well. I suppose ‘Marth’ is a member of the Ylissean royal family now.”

“As is Odin Dark!” Owain grinned. “His comrades must know at once.”

“Oh gods,” Laslow said, his eyes widening. “The others. They have no idea about me.”

Lucina bit her lip. “Since I assumed you were dead, well… they thought you were dead, too.”

“Indeed,” Owain grimaced. “Brady unleashed the floods of the heavens, and the others… none of them reacted well.”

“Ah… well…” For lack of anywhere else to look at, Laslow tickled the baby’s nose, smiling as his younger self scrunched it up in response. “Perhaps in a bit we should tell them I live, yes?”

“But first,” Olivia interrupted, too tired to be embarrassed as all attention focused on her. “I need to name this baby here.”

“I thought you were naming him Inigo?” Laslow asked, tilting his head.

“Well, yes. But…” Olivia smiled, and looked over at Chrom. “I think ‘Inigo Laslow Lowell’ has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

Laslow’s eyes widened and he placed his hand over his mouth, trying to hide the fact that he wanted to cry. One, she cared about him so much that she’d named his present-day self after him. Two, this was the situation with little Lucina Marth Lowell all over again and it was _hilarious_.

* * *

“ _Yer a damned idiot!_ ” Brady yelled. It would honestly be more terrifying if he wasn’t snorting and bawling while he spoke. “Y-Ya just had to go and lose your m-memory like that and… and…”

Laslow winced as Brady wiped at his face with his sleeve, getting snot all over it. “Brady… I’m fine now, I promise.”

“I had my suspicions when I first met you, but when you claimed you were someone else, I believed it logical that you were _not_ ,” Laurent confessed. “It appears in this case I should have followed my initial suspicions.”

Gerome had simply silently stared at him, crossing his arms, but he hadn’t walked away as he was prone to do, which was a good sign in itself. Cynthia had acted much like Owain and had leapt to hug him, while Kjelle had given him (and Cynthia) a bear hug that Laslow swore cracked a rib. Noire on the other hand, had nearly fainted in surprised before she’d yelled at him about how _he had better not do something so dumb like that again_.

Severa hadn’t said anything, and had instead immediately spun around and had stepped out of the room.

“I’m so glad!” Yarne had said, sobbing as well. “I’m so glad that you weren’t extinct!”

Nevertheless, once his friends had gotten over the weirdness where he had been posing as his own uncle, they’d thrown a celebration. Now that he remembered what they were like, he was able to convince them that he _was_ the same Inigo that he had known.

“That was so cool, Inigo! You stood up to _Grima_!” Cynthia gushed. “To save Lucina!”

Laslow winced. “Ah, I suppose so…” He pleadingly looked towards Lucina and Owain for help.

As always, Owain came to his rescue. “Alas! My fabled cousin! It is about time that we test ourselves! Your skills versus mine! Cousin against cousin, blood against blood, Chosen One against Chosen O—”

“Yeah yeah, we get it, Owain, you wanna train with Inigo!” Brady growled out. Owain smiled sheepishly as Lucina chuckled, but Laslow gratefully darted over towards his cousin and sister.

“That is right! Ah, I shall be back later,” he promised his friends.

* * *

Severa was standing in the hallway not too far from them. When she saw them, she immediately spun around and left.

Laslow stared at her for a moment as she scowled at him, and he bit his lip, eyeing her warily. He used to flirt with her – a _lot_ – even as a twelve-year-old, but then again, he had flirted with everyone. Truth be told, he’d always been a little afraid of her, but that hadn’t stopped him from trying to make her feel nice.

“Severa?” He called softly, and glanced over at his cousin and his sister. “I’ll be back.”

They eyed him, but nodded and stepped back as Laslow chased Severa down. He finally located her in one of the side rooms.

“…Hey.”

She just huffed. Laslow grimaced. “Ah, if you’re mad about the amnesia thing—”

“Oh, shut up,” Severa cut him off. “Like, yeah, I’d have _liked_ to have known that you weren’t actually _dead_ , but I didn’t think that it would turn out like this!”

Laslow blinked, as he tried to figure her out. She’d always been a bit of a puzzle for him, both as an amnesiac and not as one. “Like… er, how?”

“ _Ugh_.” Severa glared at him, but it only seemed half-hearted. “If I’d known that it was _you_ , then I’d have… I’d have…”

“You’d have what?” He looked baffled.

She didn’t say anything, but instead she started laughing, hiding her face with her hands. “Gods, I’m… I’m really just like _her_.” She sounded more disgusted than anything else. “I can’t believe it. Pining after a prince that I couldn’t have just like _her_!”

Laslow’s eyes widened as he realized what she had meant, and he exhaled. Well, things had become extremely awkward. “Sev…”

“Just – shut up, okay?” she told him, though there was no bite in her tone. “…I already made my peace with that while you were dead. Only regretted that I’d never told you when Luci told us. Now I know that you’re alive and… with _Robin_.”

She wrapped her arms around herself, staring off to the side. Laslow wanted to comfort her, to tell her that it would be alright, that she would find the perfect person for her just like Cordelia had, but he had a feeling that she wouldn’t take too kindly to that.

“…Anyways, so that’s that, I guess,” she muttered. “You were going off with Luci and Owain, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, we were escaping the others,” Laslow replied. “You could… join us?”

“…Whatever,” she sighed, but she approached him anyways. “Lead the way.”

The two of them walked back to where Laslow had left Lucina and Owain, the two of them quietly talking to each other before noticing the pair and waving.

“Laslow of the Azure Skies!” Owain greeted. “And Severa the Moonborn! Come, join us!”

“…Well, that changed quickly,” Laslow noted. “Wasn’t it Indigo Skies?”

“A new name deserves a new epithet,” Owain said sagely, linking his arm around Laslow’s and tugging him along.

Laslow rolled his eyes. "...I guess."

As he was dragged off by Owain, with Lucina and Severa following after giving each other amused looks, he glanced back at where he had come from. His experiences in the future had definitely taken their toll on him, but several years as a happy child and then young adult had also helped him start mending the scars of his past.

He doubted that he would fully heal – none of them would – but it did give him a unique insight into everything. He knew that he would struggle with whether he was truly Laslow and Inigo. But he wouldn’t change it for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **The Wellspring:** The backstory behind the Wellspring, outside of what some of Frederick said, is all pure headcanon.
> 
> **Soleil:** I'm sure a few of you can predict what happened to Morgan's sister.
> 
>  **Severa:** A scene that I added in at the last minute since I know at least one reviewer really wanted to see it. It probably wouldn't have made it in if I hadn't already known how Severa's reaction would be, but in the end, I feel like the ending is a little stronger for it.


End file.
